Putin’s behavior has become so outrageous and unreal that people are missing the obvious. Putin has had a major personality change! When all you see all day on TV is the bombing and destroyed buildings in Ukraine, and he is talking by phone to the Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, denying the obvious shelling of civilian targets, calling it “propaganda fakes.” This is a sign that Putin is seriously delusional. This is not just politics, cover-ups, or lying. It is crazy! That is a definitive symptom of a mind that has gone off the tracks. His inner circle must come to the same conclusion before he destroys Ukraine and Russia. 12,000 Russians have died so far, over two million people have fled Ukraine, thousands of Russians have been arrested for protesting, and many are leaving Russia.
His position on negotiations is not what a normal person would do. He will only “negotiate” if all the conditions that he wants are met. That is not called negotiations. It is called a capitulation and further confirms his jumbled thinking.
His obsessive thoughts that the West is responsible for his problems, instead of his own homicidal actions, and that Nazis are around every corner is classic of Paranoia. His face is swollen, suggesting that he is taking anti-psychotic and/or anti-depression drugs. Senator Marco Rubio, Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Intelligence, says, “I wish I could share more, but for now, I can say that it’s pretty obvious that something is off with Putin!” Putin used to pride himself on his ability to control his emotions. That has gone out the window. He has frequent flashes of uncontrollable anger. His body language displays anxiety. Licking his lips is a sign of a dry mouth. Shifting frequently in his chair is evidence of tenseness.The clenched fist and table-pounding displays anger and aggression.
When an individual exhibits delusional thinking and does not use common sense in talking to other adults, it is obvious that other tactics must be considered. He has not and will not respond to sanctions. He does not care about his people, and the wholesale destruction of his economy means nothing to him. His only goal is to satisfy his imaginary unattainable goal of reconstructing the old Soviet Union. Rumor has it that he has moved his family into an underground city under the Altai Mountains in Siberia, which is a high-tech facility that is nuclear safe. Does that give you a clue as to his mindset?
Many people on both sides of the political spectrum have noticed that Putin’s thinking is off. Condoleezza Rice has commented on this change in personality. General H. R. McMasters, the former National Security adviser to Trump, stated that Putin is no longer a “rational actor.” Even Nancy Pelosi says, “he has brain fog.” His fear of getting close to people is also a symptom of his deteriorating mind. He is unreasonably afraid of any contact with people, as evidenced by his long table conversations with people clustered at one end and he at the other end. This is Paranoia, another classic symptom of insanity. It appears he is struggling with physical and mental issues.
This is what Paranoia looks like. There are people that say Putin has been like this for 20 years. He has done what he did in Chechnya and what he did in Crimea. He tells blatant lies, and a reasoning person cannot respond to such nonsense.
But in summation, it does not matter if Putin is or is not crazy. The actions that he has taken are crazy, and all his intended objectives have been turned around to their opposites. Intending to weaken NATO has, in fact, led to strengthening it. Sweden and Finland are now contemplating joining NATO. Germany is putting up 100 billion to rearm itself. All of NATO is on high alert!
Ukraine may eventually be overrun by the vastly superior force of the Russian army. But that is the easy part. Just like in Afghanistan, the next phase of the war is not going to be so easy. Every street corner, every tree will have a sniper behind it picking off young Russian men. How long can that last? Russia had to eventually leave Afghanistan for that reason, defeated by a rag-tag army of amateurs.
The Russian economy has been decimated and cast back to the Stone Age. Russian oil, their lifeline, will become shunned by much of the world. It will encourage the EU, and us to take a second look at Nuclear energy. France has done very well with it. 70% of their energy is Nuclear and has been for forty years. They have had very few accidents, none of them lethal. Oil and coal have been much more lethal. In the meantime, we could become independent of Russian and Middle Eastern Oil because we can, must, and really have no other choice if we want to continue to exist despite what Green Peace says or what the CO2 levels are. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is teaching us the new normal.