(NewsNation) — Western leaders have expressed their outrage over Alexei Navalny’s death, claiming Russian President Vladimir Putin is responsible.
However, former White House National Security Adviser John Bolton says as much as these leaders are good at expressing their outrage, they’re not that great at enforcing threatened consequences against the Kremlin.
With this, Bolton disagrees with the assertion from Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Putin is showing weakness following Navalny’s death. Bolton believes Putin thinks he’s on “the upswing” following the death of the opposition leader.
“I think Putin thinks that he’s going to get away with this,” Bolton said Monday on “Morning in America.” “Russia has gotten away with so much recently, without any significant domestic political ramifications for Putin.”
Plus, Putin has shown his hand by issuing arrests for those who went out after Navalny’s death and protested.
“That’s not to say Putin is totally secure, but he feels that he has the upper hand. He feels himself in control internationally,” Bolton said.
Bolton feels the U.S. needs to use Navalny’s death as a motivator to get its act together and provide assistance to Ukraine against Russia. He says it’s in the United States’ security interest to do so.
“Putin thinks he’s on the upswing,” Bolton said.