Rumors of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s declining health do not hold any weight, according to a top U.S. intelligence official.
The Kremlin is “entirely too healthy” amid rumors Putin’s health is failing, William Burns, director of the CIA, said Wednesday. Burns, the last U.S. official to meet with Putin before the invasion of Ukraine, clarified that his comments were “not a formal intelligence judgment” but a personal opinion, according to the Daily Mail.
“He is stewing in a very combustible combination of grievance and ambition and insecurity,” Burns said.
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The Russian president has disappeared from the public eye for weeks at a time in recent years amid rumors he is undergoing surgery. On Tuesday, Putin was seen hobbling down a red carpet in Tehran after he stepped off the plane with his right arm hanging limply at his side.
Putin secretly took visits from a doctor specializing in thyroid cancer 35 times over four years, spending 166 days in the doctor’s presence, an April report from the Russian outlet Proekt claimed. Later in the month, Putin was seen on video in a meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, during which Putin was purportedly slouched in his chair while holding tight to the table, raising questions about his health.
Burns also reported that Russia has suffered 60,000 casualties since the start of its war in Ukraine. The number of deaths on Russia’s side is estimated to be around 15,000, while injuries are roughly 45,000, though the defending Ukrainian troops have suffered “probably a little less than” the Russians.
The Biden administration will announce new military aid for Ukraine sometime this week, which will include High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby said Tuesday. Kirby also warned that Russia is planning to annex Ukrainian territory under its control, specifically the city of Kherson and all of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is seeking to dismiss 28 Security Service officials, he announced Monday night. Zelensky had just fired Ivan Bakanov, the Security Service’s chief, for neglecting his duties, as well as Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova on Sunday night.
