republican senator Marco Rubio I said that Vladimir PutinHis mental state is deteriorating because “his time is running out on this earth.”
Rubio, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Putin, 69, was trying to cement his historic legacy by restoring Russian territory.
“He’s older now.” His time is running out on this earth. He knows that, ‘said Rubio CNN in Tuesday. “He is about to turn 70 – he won’t have another 30 years to deal with all this. He sees himself as a great historical figure in Russia. Every great Russian figure in history has conquered territory. He sees the restoration of Great Russia as his historical legacy, and you can’t do that unless Ukraine is something you control and you have at least a vassal state. [there]. And that is why he is deeply committed to it.
Rubio said Putin’s outbursts of anger showed his mental state. And he pointed out that the average Russian dies at the age of 72.
“This is a man who has always been proud of emotional control, almost stoicism to provoke anger, which you have seen, is an indication that we are dealing with a different person,” said the Florida senator.
“It’s not about whether a person is crazy or not, or whether there are other problems. “A lot of people assume that,” Rubio said.
Republican Sen. Marco Rubio told CNN that Vladimir Putin’s mental state is deteriorating because “his time is running out on this earth.”
Intelligence officials are worried about the mental state and isolation of Russian President Vladimir Putin
Rubio is a member of the Gang of Eight: members of Congress who have access to the most sensitive classified intelligence. But he said the information he shared in interviews and on Twitter came from public sources.
He tweeted on Friday that Putin “has always been a murderer, but his problem is now different and significant.”
“I wish I could share more, but for now I can say that it is quite obvious to many that something is wrong with #Putin,” Rubio wrote. “It would be a mistake to assume that Putin will react in the same way as he did five years ago.”
Officials are becoming increasingly concerned about Putin’s mental state as his invasion of Ukraine goes badly, he and his allies face economic sanctions, and the ruble depreciates.
U.S. intelligence agencies have estimated that Putin is becoming increasingly frustrated with his military battles in Ukraine and may be doubled by violence. NBC News reported.
The Russian president is directing unusual outbursts of anger at people close to him over the resistance he faces in Ukraine and the global condemnation of his actions.
Intelligence agencies said it was a red flag because Putin usually kept a stoic facade and his emotions subdued.
“He is no longer the same cold-blooded dictator with clear eyes he was in 2008,” former CIA Director John Brennan told NBC.
Putin, a former KGB officer, has effectively ruled Russia since 1999.
“It was such a bad, bad calculation by Putin,” Brennan said of the invasion of Ukraine. “He has never encountered anything like this before. I’m sure he’s attacking councilors, ministers and others – there may be an emotional spiral here. He received two black eyes, a bloody nose and a series of blows. He is crippled on the battlefield and on the financial front and has no good opportunities.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki also questioned Putin’s state of mind.
“He was obviously quite isolated during Covid. But I will tell you that he is certainly deeply concerned about the rhetoric, the actions, the justification he makes for his actions, “she told ABC this Sunday.
During the pandemic, Putin largely isolated himself in a “bunker” with strict regulations restricting visitors to protect himself from the disease. In the process, analysts worry, he may have severed almost all ties to the outside world and lost sight of reality.
And Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he was worried Putin might feel supported in the corner.
“This is someone who was obviously caught unprepared by the size of the Ukrainian resistance,” Warner told MSNBC. “He is isolated. He was not much in the Kremlin. … You have less and less data, and these contributions are from heretics.
He added: “I’m worried he was pushed into a corner. I’m worried there’s no obvious exit ramp.
Videos and photos from Putin’s meetings show him sitting at a distance from those he meets – forcing the idea that he is isolated and acting alone.
Putin’s growing isolation worries intelligence analysts. The United States and its allies have hit Putin’s inner circle hard with sanctions and also targeted several Russian oligarchs who have become billionaires thanks to Putin’s policies.
Odessa is preparing for the Russian offensive, some of the residents have already left, but those who remain are preparing to defend the city
Two workers lift concrete slabs to cut roads in Kyiv, Ukraine
Videos and photos from Putin’s meetings show him sitting at a distance from those he meets – such as his meeting with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov above – forcing him to be isolated and acting alone.
Putin did win a military victory Wednesday when Russian forces took control of the southern city of Kherson, making it the first major city to fall since the invasion began a week ago.
But Russian forces are working on many fronts, and a long line of tanks outside Kyiv has made little progress in recent days.
The Russians said they were ready to negotiate – under difficult conditions.
“We are ready to negotiate, but we will continue the operation because we will not allow Ukraine to maintain a military infrastructure that threatens Russia,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, reiterating an accusation Moscow has repeatedly used to justify its invasion.
Lavrov said the West was constantly arming Ukraine, training its troops and building bases there to make Ukraine a bulwark against Russia.
But the United States and its allies insist that NATO is a defense alliance that does not pose a threat to Russia.
Russia announced its military casualties on Wednesday for the first time in the war, saying nearly 500 of its soldiers had been killed and nearly 1,600 wounded. Ukraine has not disclosed its own military losses.
Ukraine’s military headquarters said in a Facebook post that Russian forces had suffered about 9,000 casualties in the fighting. It is unclear whether this figure includes both killed and wounded soldiers.