'Narcissistic psychopath': Putin is capable of nuclear war, says Countess Alexandra Tolstoy
15 March 2022, 13:07 | Updated: 15 March 2022, 13:08
Countess Alexandra Tolstoy has told LBC that Russian president Vladimir Putin is "capable" of causing nuclear war because he is a "psychopath".
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Speaking on LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, the countess shared her greatest fear for the outcome of the conflict in Ukraine.
"I hardly want to express my greatest fear but I suppose it's nuclear war," she said.
"He's capable of that - his narcissistic streak?" Nick asked.
"He is capable," Countess Tolstoy said.
She added: "In my view, he is psychopathic."
"So we're dealing with a narcissistic psychopath, which is pretty frightening," Nick said.
"If [Putin] is dying, I feel like he would think 'right, well everyone's going to die with me'.
"There's a famous news segment in the Russian news where a news presenter says 'well, if Russia's not going to be in the world, then nobody's going to be in the world' and I feel that's his view.
"But, on the other hand, I have read that the chain of command – and there is a serious chain of command that will implement it - that it will not happen.
"We need to keep hope in that."
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It follows reports that Putin could be 'suffering from steroid side effects of cancer treatment'.
A security source told the Mail: "It is only human sources that can offer you the sort of rich picture that we have of Putin's psyche.
"There has been an identifiable change in his decision-making over the past five years or so.
"Those around him see a marked change in the cogency and clarity of what he says and how he perceives the world around him."
Having previously been in a relationship with a Russian Oligarch, the countess was also asked how such men gain fulfilment.
She explained: "[Oligarchs] never do gain fulfilment. There's always a need for more, for more, for more. More anything.
"And with Putin, it's just gone to an absurd limit where more is... Ukraine."
