Tracy Walder, who served both as a covert operative for the CIA and as an FBI special agent, said during an interview Saturday on MSNBC’s Alex Witt Reports: “Look, Putin was never a friend, if you will, but most of the things that he was doing was really sort of cyber or psychological operations, those kinds of things.”

Walder made note of Putin’s shifting demeanor in the leadup to the invasion, which has already caused significant casualties on both the Ukrainian and Russian sides.

“Now, you know, he’s really crossed over sort of that red line into, you know, this full military warfare,” Walder said. “But then part of me wonders if we should be this surprised.”

“Just a few years back, [Putin] kind of made this famous quote that ‘if a fight is inevitable, you must strike first,’” Walder said. “I think he always viewed that Ukraine, at least for him, was going to be a fight. I think the annexation of Crimea for him back in 2014 was never going to be enough and I worry that…this caught us off guard.”

Walder is also one of a number of people, including French President Emmanuel Macron, who have made note of the reported physical and mental changes that Putin has recently undergone. She particularly responded to a question from host Alex Witt regarding the potential heavy isolation that the Russian president may have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“That is one thing that I have noticed lately, even, and I know this sounds superficial, but if you really just look at pictures of [Putin], which I tend to do quite a bit, the shape of his face has even changed,” Walder said. “He looks different, he speaks differently and he’s crossed over to what I think I consider to be almost the dark side of history.”

Part of Putin’s demeanor, Walder surmised, may be due to his history as a former high-ranking officer in the KGB, the Soviet Union’s main foreign intelligence agency. As someone who was born and raised during the height of the Soviet Union’s power, Walder said, Putin’s invasion of Ukraine may be an attempt to return to what he believes is Russia’s former glory.

“He’s 69 years old, and has really spent 50 years of his life, quite frankly, either in government or working for the KGB, and I wholeheartedly agree with some former statements made by Senator John McCain a few years back that, you know, when he looked into Putin’s eyes, he saw three letters: K-G-B,” Walder said. “I think for the vast majority of Putin’s time in office, that’s really how he’s operated.”

“He served in East Germany, really when East Germany fell, and the Soviet Union really fell apart in 1991, that’s when he was there,” Walder said of Putin. “And I think he views that as almost a personal defeat.”

“He grew up in a time in Russia in the ’50s, ’60s, really at their—really some of their strongest points, and I think that is—he wants to restore Russia really back to that,” Walder added.

As Putin’s push to annex Ukraine continues, the United Nations (UN) has confirmed that at least 102 civilians have died. A UN official said that the actual number of deaths in Ukraine is likely “considerably higher.”

Additionally, over 400,000 Ukrainians have been forced to flee their country as the Russian military advances.

Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.