(NewsNation Now) — A former CIA official said predicting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s next move is difficult because he is an “egomaniac” who is preoccupied with his own impulses.

Dr. Barry McManus served in the Central Intelligence Agency for 26 years as the chief forensic psycho-physiologist. He believes Putin is becoming increasingly isolated and paranoid.

“I think his personal (sense) of grandeur that he sees in himself, makes him unpredictable,” McManus said.

Putin has said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, is a neo-Nazi and that his government is made up of drug addicts.

“I think it’s political rhetoric … (to) disguise … what he really wants,” McManus said.

In terms of who Putin truly believes is his enemy, McManus said Putin most likely views NATO as his biggest threat.

“He understands the results of his aggression,” McManus said. “He understands that him entering Ukraine is the much bigger question … We ask ourselves, ‘Does he care about what will happen?’ And I really don’t think he does.” 

While some have speculated that Putin may be losing his mind, McManus doesn’t see that as the case.

“I don’t think he is. In my opinion, to sum up President Putin in a nutshell, he’s not an idiot at all. He’s not crazy,” McManus said. “In my opinion, his goal is simply to seek personal power. He wants to control Ukraine, to set up his own government in his own mind and his history as he writes it.”

However, McManus thinks Putin may have underestimated the Ukrainian people and their will to fight back.

“I think he underestimated what would happen in Ukraine upon the invasion. And do I think he would (resort to) nuclear war? I don’t know. But my guess would be probably not.”

McManus said Putin will not necessarily take advice from anyone else that goes against his own gut.

“He’s an old-time KGB intelligence officer. If you’re going to put his back up against the wall … he’s like a trapped bear. He’s going to fight his way out.”