'He can't win': GOP senator explains why Putin faces 'military humiliation' and 'economic collapse'

On Wednesday's edition of CNN's "The Lead," Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, suggested Vladimir Putin's prospects for victory in the invasion of Ukraine are increasingly bleak — and that's precisely why he is so dangerous.

"Russian expert Fiona Hill told POLITICO, quote, 'If anyone thinks Putin wouldn't use something that he's got to be unusual and cruel, think again. Every time you think, no, he wouldn't, would he? Well, yes, he would. And he wants us to know that, of course,'" said anchor Jake Tapper. "That is a chilling assessment, especially when one considers that he has nuclear weapons. Do you agree with that?"

"The Russian economy's in freefall," said Rubio. "The Russian economy a week from now will be in a very terrible place. He is clearly suffering battlefield humiliation. He can't win in Ukraine. He will either have a very long, drawn-out victory after a long term, or he'll be caught in a quagmire where he's fighting off 40 million people. Remember, he's not just fighting the military. He's fighting the people. So he's going to have a military humiliation, the economic collapse that's on its way to Russia."

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"He has very few options to go back and stabilize the strategic balance," continued Rubio. "He can't sanction us. He can't — what are his options? Cyber and space. And creating new provocations like these threats of nuclear weapons. That's why it is concerning. It is my personal opinion that this guy will have to create some new crisis, do something to reset the strategic balance and force everyone to the table with him. It could be a combination of things, including a siege of Kyiv, where 3 million people are being starved to death."

Watch below:

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