Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin has grown "more out of control," arguing he is "desperate" to eradicate Ukraine.
Rice was asked about reports of Ukraine striking a bridge linking Crimea and Russia in a series of underwater explosions.
Rice called the attack "extraordinary" during "Fox & Friends," saying it shows Ukraine can hold Putin accountable for his "aggression."
"It shows a couple of things," she told Brian Kilmeade on Wednesday. "First, the changing nature of warfare, that you can do this with relatively cheap drones... against the Russian strategic air fleet, which has cost billions and billions of dollars. Secondly, it shows that the Ukrainians are very advanced in what they are doing in their defense industry with the building of these drones and an employment strategy for them."
"And third, it is an incredible intelligence coup," she added. "Vladimir Putin is undoubtedly now wondering whether there was an inside job. You're probably going to see a witch hunt in Russia as he tries to figure out who did this inside. So it just shows that just with a little bit of help, Ukrainians can make Vladimir Putin pay for his aggression."
A massive underwater blast targeting a bridge linking Russia to Crimea left it in a "state of emergency" Tuesday, according to the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU). The SBU said it detonated around 2,500 pounds of underwater explosives along the Kerch Bridge.
Footage showed a blast centered around one of the bridge pillars, followed by people surveying damage on top of the bridge.
The surprise detonation comes just days after Ukraine carried out "Operation Spider's Web," a series of coordinated drone strikes penetrating deep into Russian territory that is believed to have taken out dozens of Russia's most powerful bomber jets and surveillance planes as they sat idle on five military airfields.
Rice noted Putin's behavior has become more unstable since she served under former President George W. Bush, pointing to his unwavering determination in trying to "extinguish" Ukraine.
"He seems to be more out of control than he used to be," Rice said. "He was always a very controlled figure. Don't get me wrong, he was never a Jeffersonian Democrat. He was always an autocrat. He was always an imperialist, but there is something about him now that seems almost more desperate in wanting to extinguish Ukraine."
Rice argued it is imperative for President Donald Trump to make it clear that Russia will not win in its effort to take over the country after peace talks failed to yield a major breakthrough in Istanbul on Monday.
"I do think there's a little part of Vladimir Putin that recognizes, particularly, that the energy infrastructure in Russia is degrading, and that he would be better off to stop this war," she said.
"But it's being overcome by that other Putin who still thinks he can extinguish Ukraine. And, you know, he needs the president more than the president needs him. And so, making very clear to him that he's not going to get his maximalist claims is extremely important at this point."
Fox News’ Greg Norman and Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.