Kanal13

It is explained how generals lie to Putin: situation for Russia is worse than during World War II

Duration: 3:53 566 transcript words EN summary

Video summary

Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, has publicly confirmed rumors that Russian leader Vladimir Putin lacks a clear understanding of the actual situation on the front lines. Speaking at the Riga Security Conference, Budanov emphasized that the reality for Russia is far less favorable than the Kremlin portrays to its citizens and allies. He cited the recent incident involving the city of Sviatohirsk as a prime example, where Putin declared the city captured only for Ukrainian forces to effectively deny this claim shortly afterward from within the city center. Budanov described this pattern as a classic case where military personnel deceive political leadership to appear successful and secure their positions, highlighting a significant disconnect between official narratives and battlefield realities. The transcript further details criticisms from Russian war correspondent Maxim Kalashnikov, who accuses the Russian elite of weakness and an inability to defeat Ukraine, arguing that Russia's current predicament is worse than during World War II. Kalashnikov points to a severe decline in governance quality, intelligence capabilities, and organizational abilities among the ruling class, which he finds terrifying given the prolonged nature of the conflict. He warns that as the war drags on, the economic crisis will deepen, Russia's reputation as a major military power will diminish, and its leaders will eventually fall. According to his assessment, the front is stalled, infantry assaults are futile, and the enemy is even launching counter-offensives while the war consumes a gigantic number of Russian lives. Beyond Kalashnikov's warnings, renowned propagandist Yevgeny Norin has unexpectedly made an outspoken anti-war statement, calling for the dismantling of the so-called Special Military Operation (SVO) which he believes has reached a dead end and is destroying Russia from within. Norin acknowledges that while there is some progress on the battlefield, it is slow and unsustainable, noting that the enemy's manpower reserves have stabilized rather than running out as previously hoped. He predicts that fighting in areas like Sloviansk and Kramatorsk could continue for years, a prospect he views with deep skepticism regarding Russia's ability to achieve victory. Norin stresses that the economic, social, and political difficulties are accumulating rapidly, while external pressure from watching partners worsens the situation, making a swift end to the aggression essential before the costs become unbearable. Ultimately, both speakers converge on the conclusion that without a peace treaty, Russia faces an indefinite freeze of the war with uncertain and destabilizing consequences for all involved nations. Norin warns that continuing the current regime of conflict will distort life in both Russia and Ukraine and send shockwaves across Europe, while Budanov underscores the futility of relying on deception to mask military stagnation. The situation described paints a grim picture where the Russian state is hemorrhaging resources and morale, with its leadership trapped between impossible goals and a deteriorating reality that threatens to collapse under the weight of its own aggression.

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The head of the office of the president of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, confirmed rumors that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has a poor understanding of the real situation on the front. He announced this while speaking at the Riga Security Conference. The head of the office of the president noted that the situation on the front lines for Russia is not as favorable as the Kremlin hopes. He recalled the incident with the city of Sviatohirsk, which Putin publicly declared captured. A couple of days later, Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander Andriy Biletsky effectively denied this information in a recorded address from the city center. "This is a classic situation where military personnel deceive the political leadership in order to look good in their eyes and hold on to their posts," Budanov said. In this case, Russian Z war correspondent and angry patriot Maxim Kalashnikov unleashed criticism of the Kremlin. He accused the Russian elites of weakness and inability to defeat Ukraine. According to Kalashnikov, the situation for Russia is now worse than during World War II. "The quality of governance, the quality of the ruling elite, their intelligence, their organizational abilities have declined. This is terrifying. You understand that the longer this war drags on, the [music] worse the economic crisis will be, the worse your position will be, the lower your reputation as the second largest [music] military force, as military and state leaders will fall. It's already considered much shorter than the 2022 target. What denazification and demilitarization are you talking about? Forget it. What's happening now is a testament to your utter impotence. You'd like to win, but you can't organize it. Even a fool can see that it's impossible to win with infantry assaults. Everything on the ground is stalled. The enemy is even counter-attacking, launching a counter-offensive. The front is devouring a gigantic number of people, Kalashnikov declared. One of the ideologists behind the aggression against Ukraine, renowned propagandist Yevgeny Norin, unexpectedly made an outspoken anti-war statement. He effectively called on the Kremlin to dismantle the so-called SVO, [music] which has reached a dead end and is destroying Russia. Norin stated that the Russian army's offensive has been blocked. There is progress on the battlefield, but it's slow. I'm somewhat skeptical of the idea that the enemy will run out of men tomorrow. Now, as far as I can tell, their situation has stabilized. The fighting for Sloviansk and Kramatorsk could continue at this pace for a very long time. I wouldn't say years, so as not [music] to upset anyone too much. But yes, years, the propagandist said. He called for a swift end to aggression against Ukraine, as Russia's situation is deteriorating every day. Our economic, social, and political difficulties are accumulating and deepening. The external situation is worsening because our partners are watching. For us, the economic situation is deteriorating particularly sharply. The costs of the war are also very heavy for us. If we don't find a way to sign a peace treaty, it will be a freeze on the war for an indefinite [music] period with uncertain consequences. And this situation will remain unstable for a very, very long time. But a freeze is what we are apparently heading towards. If we continue to fight in the current regime, it will distort all aspects of life in Russia and Ukraine, and will ricochet across Europe, Norin said.