“It is… the first time in Putin’s Russia that there have been so many individual and collective protests against Kremlin actions,” he said.
“However, public support for the Kremlin’s military adventure, which is far from unconditional even now, will decline rapidly and steadily as the high cost, both in human lives and the state’s complete disruption of normal life, becomes clear.”
In terms of a possible assassination attempt, he added, “I believe that if there is an assassination attempt, it will be from a female.”
“Perhaps a member of his family, his mistress, his daughter, his ex-wife – someone who knows him and has a chance of getting close to him.”
“The likelihood (of assassination) is growing.”
Former US National Security Council official Fiona Hill recently told NBC News that Putin is “paranoid” about a possible assassination attempt.
“Any loose talk about somebody taking him out, regime change – he believes we’re in that business anyway,” she said.
“He looks at what the US has done – and he says it openly – in Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, and many other places where we’ve intervened, and he thinks, I’m not going to let that happen here in Russia. He’s extremely concerned about this.”
Dr. Hill was recently interviewed by Politico and was asked if Putin would use his nuclear weapons.
“Every time you think, ‘No, he wouldn’t, would he?'” she explained. He’d do it, I’m sure.
“Of course, he wants us to know that.” We should not be frightened or intimidated. We need to plan for those contingencies and figure out what we’re going to do to avoid them.”
Putin signalled his willingness to use his nuclear arsenal in late February.
He directed that Russia’s nuclear deterrence forces be placed on high alert.
The US accused Putin of “totally unacceptable” escalation and stated that it would maintain its support for Ukraine as well as punitive measures against Russia.
This week, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned Putin to stop “saber-rattling” about nuclear weapons.
He stated: “Russia must realise that it will never win a nuclear war.
“NATO is not going to send troops into Ukraine… It is critical to provide assistance to Ukraine, and we are doing so.
“However, it is also critical to prevent this conflict from escalating into a full-fledged war between NATO and Russia.”