On CNN Monday, Evelyn Farkas, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia/Ukraine/Eurasia, weighed in on recent rumors that Vladimir Putin is suffering from mental issues that are driving his aggressive actions toward Ukraine.
"[Florida Sen.] Marco Rubio told Jake Tapper something earlier today I wanted to ask you about," said anchor Erin Burnett. "He specifically talked about Putin's mental state, and the exact quote, sorry, it's right here, he tweeted, 'I wish I could share more, for now I can say something's off with Putin,' and he told Jake, 'Putin has created a system of people not telling him bad news or facts that contradict his performances. He appears to have neuro/physiological health issues.'"
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Farkas replied by noting that she couldn't technically diagnose any of Putin's potential mental disorders.
"I'm not a medical doctor," she explained. "I have a political science degree, doctorate. But what that sounds like is something like Parkinson's maybe. Now, what that would tell me is not that he's suffering in terms of his judgment per se because of the physical issue. It's more that he might feel like he doesn't have that much time as the leader of Russia, which gets back to why he's doing this whole thing, why he's doing it now. The idea that he needs to leave his mark on history maybe because he feels like his time leading the country isn't that long."
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