CIA Director William Burns on Wednesday played down reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin is suffering from any sort of health problems.
“There are all sorts of rumors about Putin's health, and as far as we can tell he is entirely too healthy,” Burns said at the Aspen Security Conference taking place in Colorado when asked if the Russian President seems unstable.
“That's not a formal intel judgment. ... He's got his own way of looking at reality,” added Burns.
“Putin really does believe his rhetoric that Ukraine is not a real country. He believes that it is his entitlement, Russia’s entitlement to dominate Ukraine,” the CIA Director continued.
There have been reports for months about Putin’s failed health. In May, a Russian intelligence official claimed that the Russian President has been given just three years to live by doctors.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov refuted the report, saying there were no signs pointing to any ailment.
In April, documents published in The Telegraph claimed that the Russian leader was visited by a thyroid cancer doctor 35 times at his luxury Black Sea retreat, and regularly takes steroids.
The Kremlin has denied that Putin, 69, has or had cancer but Proekt, a Russian banned investigative news organization, said it had proof this was a lie.
In 2020, there were reports that Putin is planning on resigning the following year. The report cited rumors that Putin is suffering from Parkinson’s disease.
In his remarks on Wednesday, Burns also said the United States estimates that Russian casualties in Ukraine so far have reached around 15,000 killed and perhaps 45,000 wounded, adding that Ukraine has endured significant casualties as well.
"The latest estimates from the US intelligence community would be something in the vicinity of 15,000 (Russian forces) killed and maybe three times that wounded. So a quite significant set of losses. And, the Ukrainians have suffered as well -- probably a little less than that. But, you know, significant casualties," he stated.