VLADIMIR Putin has given his clearest signal yet that he’s ready to step down — saying he’s “not afraid to hand over the country”; to Russia’s new elite.
The 72-year-old tyrant made the bombshell remarks while praising a suspected war criminal accused of taking part in the Bucha massacre.
Torturer Nursultan Mussagaleev, 27 — groomed by the as a future politician — sat shoulder-to-shoulder with at a hero-worshipping meeting in .
Despite accusing him of “violating the laws and customs of war”;, the alleged Butcher of Bucha was given pride of place next to the Kremlin leader.
Mad Vlad ignored the explosive charges, instead declaring: “These are the people, this is the elite, the future of the country is theirs.
“And I am not afraid to hand over the country to such people.”;
The chilling statement marks one of the clearest signals yet that is planning for life after power — and potentially grooming accused war criminals to run in his place.
Mussagaleev is alleged to have ordered the torture of a 29-year-old civilian at a checkpoint in Bucha — a man who was later taken to a forest and shot dead.
Despite this, Putin hailed him and others in the “Time for Heroes”; programme as the next generation of leadership.
He even took aim at the old guard, saying Russia’s future elite should not be wealthy oligarchs who “stole”; money, but men like Mussagaleev “who defend the Motherland”;.
The 27-year-old former paratrooper — now fast-tracked to become a district head and deputy minister in the Orenburg region — called on Putin to erect statues and build museums to commemorate “heroes”; of the
Addressing the dictator, he said: “Dear Vladimir, I am an officer, graduated from the Ryazan Guards Higher Airborne Command School.
“I served in the 104th Airborne Assault Regiment of the 76th Airborne Assault Division.
“I have state awards. From the first days I took part in the special military operation...”;
He added: “After the end of the special military operation, we must think about creating a federal museum dedicated to all defenders of the Fatherland.”;
The shocking endorsement comes amid frenzied speculation that Putin is preparing to bow out after more than two decades at the top.
Ukrainian President claimed: “Putin will die soon, and that’s a fact.”;
He and warned the world not to drop its guard.
Zelensky, speaking alongside French President in , said the ageing autocrat “fears his own society”;.
Putin — long rumoured to be — has been spotted with tremoring hands, a puffy face, slurred speech, and twitching legs.
Some believe he now .
Meanwhile, experts warn could spiral into chaos when Putin goes.
Former Kremlin adviser Nikolay Petrov told Flying Eze that , warning: “The elites are hostages of Putin, absolutely dependent on him.”;
He said if Putin resigns or dies, “an internal struggle for power will begin”; and could even result in “a military-backed rise to the top”; — naming Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov as a possible contender.
Petrov believes the Kremlin’s authoritarian structure could crumble fast, saying: “The future after Putin is unlikely to be better than the present.”;
Despite outward appearances of control, the Kremlin has already started adapting to the ageing strongman’s decline.
Petrov said: “Putin is ageing, and regardless of his physical condition, in which he invests a lot, he is gradually ceasing to be an autocratic tsar.”;
