(PresidentialHill.com)- You’ve probably heard reports and rumors that Russian President Vladimir Putin is mentally unstable or has lost his mind, but not everybody thinks that what he is doing in Ukraine is the result of some kind of crisis. Instead, some say that he is going ahead with a goal that he has long considered important to rebuilding the Russian empire.
Former economic advisor to the Russian president, Andrei Illarionov, gave an interview to Newsmax recently in which he claimed that Putin is “persistent” and “calculated” and that he fully intends to go head-to-head with Europe and the United States over his desire to retake Ukrainian land as Russian.
Speaking to Spicer & Co on Thursday, Illarionov said that Putin “does not demonstrate anything that he is losing his mind.”
Illiarionov, who is also a senior fellow at the D.C.-based Center for Security Policy, described Putin as “very concentrated” and “very calculated.”
“He’s very precise, he knows what he wants, and he’s trying to implement his policy and achieve his goal,” he added.
On intelligence that suggests Putin is in a state of mental decline, Illiarionov said that it is merely a “clear distraction” and an example of misinformation purposely being peddled by the United States intelligence community.
Illiarionov said that Putin has so far been able to fool all of the main global powers and that Putin’s attack on Ukraine is actually an attack on Europe and the United States.
Given that Illiarionov worked for Putin, he should know.
The former Putin advisor also said that people shouldn’t count on pressure from Russian oligarchs to work. Even as oligarchs express their concern about Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, their power wanes for as long as Western sanctions are placed on Russian banks, institutions, and businesses.
“The so-called oligarchs do not have any real influence on the decision-making process in the Kremlin,” he said.
Is it better or worse that Putin made the decision to invade Ukraine while of sound mind? It’s hard to tell.
