In an interview with Radio NV on Jan. 29, Bril confirmed that he does not believe the rumours about Putin allegedly having incurable diseases and "terminal" diagnoses made from afar by the world media.
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"I don't believe them," Bril said.
"I'm almost 99% sure it's not true. And (I'm sceptical) to not only terminal diagnoses, from which people die, but also to any other diseases, except, perhaps, the basic ones due to age."
As an example, he commented on long-standing rumours that Putin had allegedly been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, noting that had they been true, Putin would probably already be dead.
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"In the case of pancreatic cancer, if we take the time frame, a person would die even with chemotherapy, even with the best treatment options," the doctor said.
"Another one, Parkinson's disease, … I don't think so. I believe he's healthy. And no matter how much a lot of people would like to substitute a desire for reality, it's not quite right. And maybe harmful, because underestimating the enemy in this situation may even cause harm."
In May 2022, the head of Ukrainian Military Intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said that Putin was ill with cancer and several other serious diseases.
"However, it isn't worth expecting Putin to die tomorrow," Budanov said then.
In late April 2022, the UK tabloid newspaper the Sun also published an article stating that Putin had cancer and would soon have surgery.
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In May, the U.S. publication New Lines Magazine obtained footage of an oligarch close to the Kremlin saying Putin has blood cancer.
Meanwhile, former UK intelligence officer Christopher Steele has claimed that Putin is quite seriously ill, but it is not clear with exactly what.
The U.S. film director Oliver Stone, who previously made a propaganda film about Putin, has also claimed the Russian dictator has cancer.
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The Danish daily newspaper Berlingske, referring to an interview with a source they called Joakim, allegedly the head of Russia analysis at FE, the Danish Defence Intelligence Service, reported on Dec. 30, 2022 that the Russian dictator had likely been under the influence of a medication when he decided to launch a war in Ukraine.
"Delusions of grandeur are one of the known side effects of the type of hormone treatment that he was on," Joakim said.
Tabloids around the world have also repeatedly reported that Putin may be suffering from the early stages of Parkinson's disease.
