According to a US media report, Putin will undergo cancer treatment and relinquish power.

vladimir Putin's Health: Concerns have been raised about the Russian President's health in recent weeks, particularly after he was seen tightly gripping a desk during a meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu last month.

Moscow: According to an unverified report in the New York Post, Russian President Vladimir Putin may undergo cancer surgery while temporarily delegating power to the country's Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev.

According to the New York Post, Putin has been told by doctors that he must undergo surgery, citing a Telegram channel allegedly run by a former Russian Foreign Intelligence Service lieutenant general, according to news agency ANI.

Putin is expected to be incapacitated for "a short time" as a result of the planned surgery and recovery, according to the report.

Referring to Putin's allegedly "sickly appearance and uncharacteristically fidgety behaviour in public" in recent times, the New York Post report claimed that the Russian President is suffering from cancer and a slew of other serious ailments, including Parkinson's disease.

However, a US official stated that the media reports could not be confirmed, with Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby saying on Monday, "I have seen nothing that could help us corroborate that," according to the New York Post.

Putin allegedly had a two-hour "heart-to-heart" conversation with Nikolai Patrushev a few days ago, according to a New York Post report citing a Telegram post.

"We know that Putin signalled to Patrushev that he regards him as practically his only trusted ally and friend in the government," according to the post. "Additionally, the president promised that if his health deteriorates, actual control of the country would be temporarily transferred to Patrushev's hands."

"Patrushev is a complete bad guy. He is no better than Vladimir Putin in this regard. Furthermore, he is a more cunning, and I would argue, more insidious, individual than Vladimir Putin. If he is elected, Russians' problems will only worsen "the owner of the Telegram channel that claimed Putin underwent cancer surgery

"Putin is unlikely to agree to hand over power for an extended period of time," the Telegram channel added, adding that control of the country will likely be in Patrushev's hands for no more than two to three days, according to the New York Post.

According to the New York Post, Russia's Security Council, of which Patruchev is secretary, is an influential body that answers directly to Putin and issues guidance on military and security issues within Russia. The majority of the council's power is vested in Patrushev, who is widely regarded as a staunch Putin ally.

Patrushev, like Putin, is a career Russian intelligence agent, first with the Soviet KGB and then with the Russian FSB, according to the Moscow Times report.

"The Americans, using their henchmen in Kyiv, decided to create an antipode of our country, cynically choosing Ukraine for this, trying to divide essentially a single people," he reportedly said.