Russian President Vladimir Putin is “absolutely very healthy” despite “many rumours” about his health, according to a top US intelligence official.
“There are a lot of rumors about President Putin’s health, and as far as we can tell, he’s completely healthy,” CIA Director Bill Burns said when asked directly whether Putin is unhealthy or unstable.
Burns acknowledged that his public remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado on Wednesday were not “an official intelligence judgment.”
Putin has recently appeared in photos with some visible facial swelling leading to speculation that he may be undergoing medical treatment for an unknown illness.
The Kremlin has previously denied rumors of illnesses.
“I don’t think any sane person can see in this person signs of any kind of disease or ailment. I leave it to the conscience of those who spread such rumors despite daily opportunities to ensure who they are and how they appear in this world,” he said. Minister Sergei Lavrov told French TV station TF1 in May.
Some background: When Russia invaded Ukraine in February, American politicians and former diplomats openly speculated about Putin’s stability.
From using a giant table during talks with French President Emmanuel Macron after he refused to take a Covid-19 test in Russia, to spouting conspiracy theories to justify the invasion of Ukraine, some of Putin’s behavior has reached bordering on strange.
According to a CNN report published in March, US officials are also “alert to the possibility that Putin’s strategy may well be to project instability in an effort to pressure the US and its allies into giving him what he wants.” he wants fearing that he might do worse.”
When asked in March if there had been any noticeable changes in Putin’s behavior, psychiatrist Dr. Kenneth Dekleva told CNN, “Yes and no.”
Dekleva, who previously worked at the US Embassy in Moscow and specializes in leadership analysis/political psychology for national security purposes, said Putin’s behavior is a sign of frustration with the pace of Russia’s invasion.
“I don’t think he’s erratic or changed, but he’s definitely in more of a rush,” Dekleva said.
“The saddest thing here, the most tragic thing is that Putin, from being a respected world leader when he first came to power … is looking more and more like Russia’s Slobodan Milosevic,” Dekleva added, comparing Putin to Serb. autocrat who died in The Hague in 2006 while awaiting trial for war crimes.
CNN’s Uliana Pavlova, Sarah Diab and Zachary B. Wolf contributed reporting to this post.
