Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to undergo a cancer operation and will be handing the reins of power over to his deputy and espionage official Nikolai Patrushev, according to an insider from the Kremlin.

Putin’s health has been a topic of rampant speculation over the past several months since he launched his invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. Sun reported that there have been reports that Putin has been dealing with both a form of unidentified abdominal cancer and Parkinson’s Disease.