A former Russian official now working with an opposition leader says Putin could lose his grasp on power in a few months

A former Russian deputy energy minister who is now an adviser to opposition leader Alexy Navalny said that the time in office of Russian President Vladimir Putin is numbered.

Vladimir Milov told CNN that top officials in the Russian government are "personally devastated" by Putin's aggression in Ukraine.

We are moving in a different direction for the first time. We had a lot of difficulties in the 70s and the 80s, but we were still opening to the world and the direction was very different.

Those in positions of power know that this isn't the first time this has happened.

Milov said that when he said devastated, he meant it.

Milov wrote in the Journal of Democracy that Putin's days are numbered.

He said that Putin still has a strong grip on power, but not for long.

He can hang on for a while, but soon many more people inside the system will begin questioning what he is doing, and ordinary Russians will express discontent with the economic situation. Milov said that this was something Putin never experienced.

Russian elites will start questioning the direction of the country if Putin is the right leader, according to Milov.

He said that communication between government officials is monitored more than the opposition. Opponents are afraid to speak out about Putin.

Milov said that if two people, three people, or more start to discuss that Putin is taking the country in the wrong direction, this will be recorded and reported to Putin.