Putin is 'losing touch with reality': Ex-FBI counter-spy warns Russian leader is 'unstable'

The former assistant director for counterintelligence at the FBI on Saturday warned about Russian strongman Vladimir Putin losing touch with reality.

Frank Figliuzzi was interviewed by MSNBC's Alicia Menendez as Kremlinology has made a resurgence following Putin's crackdown on the press inside Russia.

Menendez noted a quote from Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko defending Putin's mental health by claiming, "This is a completely sane, healthy person, physically healthy - he's an athlete."

Figliuzzi noted a new quote from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

"He has been in a total panic about the so-called colour revolution in Moscow itself, and that's why he's trying so brutally to snuff out the flame of freedom in Ukraine," Johnson said. "This is a turning point for the world. It's a moment of choice. It's a choice between freedom and oppression."

Figliuzzi said "a sane person does not target civilian innocents — women, children, civilian apartment buildings."

"That's not the actions of a sane man. It's a man who feels cornered, threatened and is losing touch with reality. I don't think he's that stable," he explained. "I don't think he's crazy, but he is unstable and increasing unpredictable — and that's a concern for all of us."