Putin could resort to 'scorched earth' strategy in Ukraine, says Rep. Waltz

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s mental health has been in question by White House officials and lawmakers, with former National Security Adviser Lt. General H.R. McMaster saying Putin is no longer a “rational actor” in his goal to restore Russia’s past.

“Putin has long aspired in many speeches, and certainly his most recent writings to make Russia great again, to reconstitute the old Soviet Union,” said retired Green Beret Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., to The National Desk’s Jan Jeffcoat. “In terms of his mental state, very hard to tell. But when you have someone that has been in the power position that he has been for 22 years, that is surrounded by oligarchs and ‘Yes’ men, he at some point is going to believe his own propaganda and overestimate his own capabilities.”

A senior defense official reacted to Putin putting Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert, saying it is “potentially putting in play forces that, if there's a miscalculation, could make things much, much more dangerous.”

But Waltz said he doesn’t think it would “go that far.”

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