Putin 'doesn't like critics, has almost messianic belief in himself', says Hillary Clinton

As the Russian war in Ukraine completed 100 days, former US State Secretary Hillary Clinton on Thursday revealed some of Russian President Vladimir Putin's characteristics traits that she witnessed during her brief time working closely with Moscow. Addressing her audience at the Hay Festival, Clinton asserted that Putin did not welcome criticism, especially from women, and held a "messianic belief in himself." Recalling the developments between 2009 to 2014, the former US presidential candidate, noted that Putin nurtured the view of an "imperial Russia."

"(Vladimir) Putin does not like critics, especially women critics," Clinton said, as quoted by The Guardian. She further claimed that Putin had helped Donald Trump to get elected as the US President in 2016. "Putin then became very adversarial towards me with few exceptions. As we know, despite efforts to say to the contrary, he worked very hard to get Trump elected through all kinds of means," she told her listeners. She also witnessed Putin's "goal of restoring imperial Russia" stemming from the "messianic belief in himself," which prompted Clinton to write warning memos of an imminent threat to "Europe and the rest of the world."

Clinton further spoke about the plight of the Russian people under serious threat to their freedom of speech and expression. She also criticised the "blatantly crooked" elections that let Putin become President again, thus, opening gates to fulfil his "aggressive ambitions" in Europe. Speaking about the invasion of Ukraine, Clinton underscored that she was "sadly, not surprised," but instead, "pleasantly surprised at how effective the government to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine defended themselves," The Guardian reported.

100 days of Putin's invasion of Ukraine

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has now lasted for at least 100 days with severe damage to life and property in nearly all pockets of Ukraine. As Russian troops continue to make their presence feel in the eastern Donbass region with rampant artillery fire and bombardment, experts say that Putin's idea of the "Russian world" and to "denazify" Ukraine has failed "abysmally." However, failing to capture Kyiv and topple Zelenskyy's government pushed Russia for a slow squeeze of Donbass. "The steamroller is indeed advancing," said Mathieu Boulegue, British military think tank Chatham House. With over 90% of civilian and residential infrastructure damaged in the largest city of Donbass, Severodonetsk, Zelenskyy also acknowledged that the "situation remains extremely difficult."

Meanwhile, the western nations have ramped up military supplies to Ukraine and tightened sanctions against Russia to help the embattled nation deter the "unprovoked" aggression. In addition, despite the large number, the Russian invaders lack motivation and inspiration to continue the war, UK military intelligence noted in its report multiple times. The strong defence also thwarted Russia's attempt to establish air superiority. Nevertheless, the Russian army has taken over swaths of land in Ukraine which amounts to at least 20% of the total area, Zelenskyy said on Thursday. The fall of the strategic port city of Mariupol and parts of Kherson, Chernihiv, and Chernobyl has cost grievously to Ukraine. Above all, over 10 million people have been forced to leave their homes in the wake of the war, including nearly 6 million who fled the country.

(Image: AP)