Guy Faulconbridge

LONDON, (Reuters) – A military analyst from Russia had a blunt message to viewers of Russian state TV: Russia’s war in Ukraine is going to get worse. Russia faces a massive mobilisation that is being supported by the United States and Russia is virtually isolated.

Russia’s state media, including state television and state media have all supported President Vladimir Putin’s order to invade Ukraine Feb. 24, 2019. Very few voices of discord have been heard.

This was evidently changed Monday night as a prominent military analyst gave an unfiltered assessment to Russia’s major state television station of the “special military action” that Putin refers to.

Mikhail Khodaryonok (retired colonel) said that informational tranquilizers should be avoided. He spoke on the 60 Minutes talk program on Rossiya-1, hosted by Olga Skabeyeva. Skabeyeva is one of the most proKremlin television journalists.

Khodaryonok said, “The situation will get worse for me, honestly speaking.” He is a frequent guest on state TV and gives candid assessments about the current situation.

He stated that Ukraine could have 1 million armed men.

Khodaryonok is a Russian soldier columnist who works for Gazeta.ru.

Russia’s invading of Ukraine killed thousands, left millions homeless and raised concerns about the worst confrontation between Russia-America since 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

Skabeyeva and Khodaryonok could not reach them for comment.

THE SENSE OF REALISM

This war also showed the post-Soviet limitations of Russia’s intelligence, military and economic power. Despite Putin’s efforts to boost his military forces, many of the battles in Ukraine have been lost by the Russian military.

The encirclement against Kyiv has been abandoned. Russia is now focusing on establishing control over Ukraine’s eastern Donbas. Ukrainian forces received arms worth billions of dollars from the West.

While losses are not reported publicly, Ukraine asserts that Russian losses exceed the 15,000 Soviets killed during the Soviet-Afghan conflict of 1979-1989.

Khodaryonok declared, before Skabeyeva interrogated him.

Russia’s invasion has had the greatest strategic implications to date. This includes the extraordinary unity of American European allies, and the attempts by Sweden and Finland at joining the U.S-led NATO military alliance.

Khodaryonok stated that Russia must see reality.

His main point was that he believed that having a sense for military-political reality is essential. If that doesn’t happen, then history will strike you hard and you will never know how it affected him.”

He said, “Don’t fire rockets at Finland for the sake of God – it looks quite funny.”

He said that Russia was isolated.

“The major problem with our military-political posture is that we’re in total geopolitical solitude, and although we don’t wish to admit it, practically all of the world is against and around us. It is time to change this.