A former US ambassador to Russia said Sunday that after decades in power and isolation, Russian President Vladimir Putin is becoming increasingly crazy.
The Obama-era ambassador to Russia made this statement during an appearance on NBC's Meet the Press.
When asked if Putin was a rational actor, McFaul said, "To get kicked out of the international money transfer service, and then to have the president of Russia get in front of his generals and say that we need to prepare."
Western nations decided on Saturday to remove some Russian banks from the global financial messaging system.
The Russian leader has believed his own propaganda for decades, according to McFaul.
This guy has been in power for 22 years. He does not listen to his aides. When I was ambassador eight years ago, he was very mean to people around him. He doesn't come into town very often, and he has been more isolated under Covid.
I sat in the room with him for five years when I worked in the Obama administration. I speak Russian. I know what he says because I listened to him, and I know how he talks about the regime.
The former ambassador pointed out that Putin claimed that the president of Ukraine is a neo-Nazi and a drug user.
In a separate message on Monday, McFaul said that dictators like Putin could not be reasoned with.
When dictators rule for decades, they stop listening to advisors, become disconnected from reality, spend a lot of time alone, and overreach. This is what has happened to Putin.
Putin claimed that he wanted to demilitarize and de-Nazify the country after announcing a surprise military assault on Ukraine.
Insider is covering developments as they happen.
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