(CNN) A former US ambassador to Russia said Russian President Vladimir Putin "absolutely" wanted Donald Trump to win the 2016 presidential election. 

"Trump said things that Putin wanted: change in foreign policy.  He said he's going to lift sanctions, look into recognizing Crimea, blow up NATO and he didn't say anything about democracy and human rights.  Secretary Clinton said exactly the opposite" Michael McFaul told David Axelrod on "The Axe Files," a podcast from the University of Chicago Institute of Politics and CNN. 

"It's very rational that Putin would want him to win," said McFaul, who has been a vocal critic of Trump. 

McFaul said it is "absolutely clear" that Putin took actions "to help Trump and to hurt Clinton" -- an assertion supported by a 2017 US intelligence assessment.  Trump has vehemently denied such conclusions. 

McFaul, who served as ambassador under President Obama from January 2012 to February 2014, described the sophistication of the Kremlin's intel operations, but noted that he was not sure they were used in the United States. 

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