1. He warned that myths of the Ukrainian army being demoralised and in disarray are 'to put it mildly, false'

2. Said Ukraine may soon have 1m troops armed with western weapons who are ready to 'fight to the last man'

3.Russia is in 'full geopolitical isolation' with 'virtually the entire world against us', Khodaryonok added, saying it is a situation that the country 'needs to get out of'

Russian state media's trumped-up narrative of Putin's glorious war in Ukraine was last night shattered by a retired colonel who gave an unusually frank and damning assessment of the situation on the frontlines and world stage.


Mikhail Khodarenok, a former air defence commander and graduate of some of the Soviet Union's top military schools, used his platform on one of Russia's most-watched talk shows to warn that the war is going badly and is likely to get worse, and that nuclear sabre-rattling - far from being threatening - actually 'looks quite amusing'.

Ukraine, he said, will soon have mobilised more than a million soldiers who will be trained by the West and equipped with modern weapons, ready to fight and die to protect their homeland against Russia.

Batting aside repeated interruption from propagandist Olga Skabeyeva that the army will be mostly made of conscripts, Khodarenok insisted that how an army is recruited is irrelevant - what really matters is willingness to fight, and Ukraine 'intends to fight to the last man.'

Russia's position on the world stage is no better, he added, pointing out that 'we are in full geopolitical isolation, and that, however much we would hate to admit this, virtually the entire world is against us. And it's that situation that we need to get out of.'

Khodarenok's remarks, broadcast to millions of Russians who until now have been spoon-fed a narrative of their military's prowess and Ukraine's weakness, mark a stunning break with the state-sanctioned narrative and puts him at extreme odds with the Kremlin stooges stood to either side of him.

Speaking on Skabeyeva's evening talk show - which toes the Kremlin line so tightly that she has become known as the 'iron doll of Putin TV' - Khodarenok urged his fellow panellist to wean themselves off of 'information tranquilisers' and look objectively at the situation.

First of all, he said, rumours of a 'moral and psychological breakdown in the Ukrainian armed forces which are allegedly on the verge of some kind of crisis in morale' are 'to put it mildly, is false'.

'The situation... is that the Ukrainian armed forces are able to arm a million people,' he added, who will be equipped with western weapons and trained how to use them by armies that are part of NATO. 'So a million armed Ukrainian soldiers needs to be viewed as a reality of the very near future,' he said.


Batting aside objections from Skabayeva that most of those men will be conscripts, he insisted that what really matters isn't how an army is recruited but its willingness to fight.

'A desire to protect one's homeland, in the sense that it exists in Ukraine, it really does exist there, they intend to fight to the last man,' he said. 'Ultimately victory on the battlefield is determined by a high level of morale among personnel, which sheds blood for the ideas which it's prepared to fight for.'

On the world stage, Khodarenok added, things hardly look better. 'We are in full geopolitical isolation,' he said, adding that: 'However much we would hate to admit this, virtually the entire world is against us.'

Nuclear sabre-rattling, he insisted, will do little to deter Russia's enemies and in fact 'actually looks quite amusing' when the whole world is arrayed against the Kremlin.

Urging those around him to 'maintain a sense of realism', he warned that 'sooner or later the reality of history will hit you so hard that you'll regret it.'

It is hardly the first time that Khodarenok has voiced concerns. Even before the war started, he wrote that Ukrainians would fight like hell to defend their country and that Russia was walking into a longer, bloodier, and far more costly conflict than it was preparing for.

It is not even the first time he has spoken out on state TV. Ahead of Putin's Victory Day speech on May 9, he warned that a rumoured mass mobilisation of troops would not solve the problems Russia's military is facing.

But his latest remarks are the lengthiest, most in-depth analysis of the corner that Moscow has backed itself into and seems intended to spark a conversation about how exactly the country gets itself out again.

What remains unclear - however - is whether anyone, and in particularly those in the Kremlin, are listening to him.

He spoke out after repeated briefings from western intelligence agencies said that Russia's offensive in the Donbass has stalled and that a path to Ukrainian victory is now emerging.

In a sign of growing desperation in the Kremlin, military sources said last night that Putin is now micro-managing the war effort - taking decisions that are typically left to colonels as his battleplan falters.

General Valery Gerasimov is also said to be making similar tactical decisions, micro-managing the war in minute detail which would normally be overseen by a colonel.

'We think Putin and Gerasimov are involved in tactical decision-making at a level we would normally expect to be taken by a colonel or a brigadier', said a Western military source, according to The Guardian.

The same source said that Russian battalion tactical groups (BTGs) had been 'battered', adding: 'If Putin is doing the job of a brigade commander' then 'he could be delving into a force that could be as small as 700 to 1,000 soldiers'.

Putin's soldiers have so far failed to achieve their military objectives in eastern Ukraine, where Russian forces have been attempting to mount a breakthrough in order to encircle Ukrainian troops in the Donbas region.

Officials believe Putin's decision to take personal control of on-the-ground troop movements could be contributing to the military failures.

Radio jamming has forced Moscow to send more battalion leaders to the front line in order to communicate with their troops, only for Ukrainians to take advantage by killing Russia's generals - with 12 confirmed dead.

The news comes after Ukrainian soldiers became the country's first to reach the Russian border after retaking Kharkiv from occupation.

Ukraine’s ministry of defence said on social media that the 227th Battalion of the 127th Brigade of its military had reached the border with Russia, marking the closest Ukrainian soldier's have come to their neighbour since it was invaded on February 24.

On Monday, one of Putin's top propagandists has declared Russia's offensive in the Donbas region has failed as incredible pictures show the inside of the steel plant at Azovstal which has been under siege for much of the war.

Russian intelligence officer and commander Igor Girkin took to his Telegram channel to summarise the situation for Russian forces in Ukraine and said their intention was 'so obvious' that Ukraine Armed Forces have been able to resist.

Meanwhile, incredible photos have been shared of the inside of Azovstal steel works - which has been under siege in Mariupol for months - after wounded Ukrainian soldiers were evacuated.

Girkin, who has spoken frankly about the difficulties facing Putin's forces in recent weeks as their invasion of Ukraine drags on, shared a detailed summary of their progress, or lack thereof, on his Telegram channel, adding that the failure to make headway was not a surprise.

He wrote: 'With regret I must say that the widely advertised [...] operation to defeat the Donetsk group of the enemy has FAILED.

'In more than two weeks of fierce hostilities (which have cost both sides huge losses) only tactical successes have been reached. Not a single large locality has been liberated.'

Girkin said that perhaps some 'local tactical successes' could be achieved before a counter-offensive by Ukraine forces but said it was unlikely the Donbas region would be 'fully liberated', adding: 'It's likely the UAF will not even be pushed away from the outskirts of Donetsk. And I cannot say that this result is unexpected for me. Quite the opposite.'

It comes as Russia said on Monday that it had agreed to an evacuation effort from the bunkers below the besieged plant in Mariupol to a medical facility in the Russian-controlled town of Novoazovsk.

As the soldier were evacuated, incredible images were shared online showing inside the plant earlier today.

One photo shows a Ukrainian soldier standing under a beam of light in the now-wrecked steel plant as wounded forces were evacuated.

The fighting at Azovstal in ruined Mariupol has symbolised Ukrainian resistance throughout Russia's nearly three-month-old invasion. Most civilians who had sought shelter at the vast Soviet-era plant were evacuated earlier this month.

'In order to save lives, the entire Mariupol garrison is implementing the approved decision of the Supreme Military Command and hopes for the support of the Ukrainian people,' the Azov Regiment said in a social media post.

In an accompanying video, one of the unit's senior commanders, Denys Prokopenko, said: 'The main thing is to realise all the risks, is there a plan B, are you fully committed to that plan which must allow for fulfilling the assigned tasks and preserve the lives and health of personnel?'

'This is the highest level of overseeing troops. All the more so when your decision is endorsed by the highest military command.'

Prokopenko did not spell out what action the defenders were taking. The video was released hours after Russia said it had agreed to evacuate wounded Ukrainian soldiers to a medical facility in the Russian-controlled town of Novoazovsk.

Ukraine estimates tens of thousands of civilians died in Mariupol during months of siege by Russian forces who destroyed the Sea of Azov port, a city of around 400,000 people.

The last defenders, including many who were wounded, had been holding out for weeks in bunkers beneath Azovstal, one of the largest metallurgical plants in Europe.

'An agreement has been reached on the removal of the wounded,' Russia's defence ministry said in a statement.

'A humanitarian corridor has been opened through which wounded Ukrainian servicemen are being taken to a medical facility in Novoazovsk.'

Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar earlier told Ukrainian television: 'Any information can harm the processes that are taking place ... Inasmuch as the process is under way, we can't say what's happening right now.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10823981/Ukraine-war-Retired-colonel-tells-Russian-state-media-world-against-us.html

The Video with English Subtitles. MUST WATCH


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrXr8VJimQw

Slava Ukrani

Berdyansk, Kherson, Melitopol, Crimea Sea of Azov, Volnovakha, Popasnaya in Donbass, including Izyum near Kharkov.all Russian play ground.

This is IGBOFAM dp

Meanwhile second picture is how your daily mail source apparently reported the over a thousand ukrainian forces that surrendered in azovstal hours ago.
Your heads are empty as is the people pushing your crap to Fp and ignoring real news.
Daily mail that Thier logo is Ukraine flag,they are the number one state propaganda for ukraine

3rd picture is your Nazi defenders going to Russia after surrendering

Babapyro:
This is IGBOFAM dp

Stop wailing blood na

Are you trying to say Russian State TV is now called MISINFORMATION channel?

Igbofam:


Stop wailing blood na

Are you trying to say Russian State TV is now called MISINFORMATION channel?

Any body can be bribed to come online and be deceiving them selves like you


But that doesn't change reality on ground
Ukraine is loosing

ken6488:

Any body can be bribed to come online and be deceiving them selves like you


But that doesn't change reality on ground
Ukraine is loosing

So you were bribed?
You are clearly deceiving yourself so who bribed you? A Putin FSB agent?

Igbofam:


So you were bribed?
You are clearly deceiving yourself so who bribed you? A Putin FSB agent?

people like you that see the truth and hide it ass lickers

Igbofam:


So you were bribed?
You are clearly deceiving yourself so who bribed you? A Putin FSB agent?

Leave the intelligent mugu

ken6488:
people like you that see the truth and hide it ass lickers

You mean people like those in the studio whom the retired colonel told to stop being delusional and trying to play down the truth regarding how their troops are doing badly and are demoralized right?

Okay

Good

Na so

Putin's houseboys who can not even win a streetfight are coming to call him a liar.

ken6488:

Any body can be bribed to come online and be deceiving them selves like you
But that doesn't change reality on ground
Ukraine is loosing

Just listen to this one.
With the way you spell, I'm not surprised you support Putin.

I don't even understand a thing in OP's write up. Anyways, Russia for the win, tho! LET'S CRUSH UKRAINE AND USA.

B

Dollywood:
I don't even understand a thing in OP's write up. Anyways, Russia for the win, tho! LET'S CRUSH UKRAINE AND USA.

It is above your IQ. That explains why you support PUTIN.

Make dem charge Russia, and the war should begin asap. WW III

...

ken6488:

Any body can be bribed to come online and be deceiving them selves like you


But that doesn't change reality on ground
Ukraine is loosing

Chai, guy read na! Why don't you people read? Why do you have a closed mind.

Who paid the guy, Putin? That's Russia's state TV in Russia in Russia! Most other TV stations were closed down for not following Putin's narrative. Now this general puts his life on the line, disobeys putin and comes on Russia's state TV and tells the truth and a Black man in far away Nigeria says the retired General is lying.

Na your type vote Buhari! Hahaha

Lol, Ukraine is massing one million soldiers to join the 600,000 currently fighting 150,000 Russian soldiers ?

And those soldiers are not even the 1st class Russian army. The majority are the B-team of the B-team of the Russian army, armed with older weapons and equipment. And not even all of them are "soldiers" per se.

Many are from the Russian National Guard (think of it as the equivalent of our Civil Defence over here) and yet, Ukraine needs 1.6 million soldiers to defeat them?

Just yesterday, the Azovs in Mariupol surrendered to the Chechens (who are part of the Russian National Guard). You should have read the hilarious comments on BBC's YouTube after the BBC reported the news, saying the Azovs were "evacuated". Evacuated by Russians into Russia?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKakNiMb8E8


Victory on social media is still victory. At least, Ukraine still owns Crimea and Mariupol on Google Maps.

The use president said russia most never be allowed to win the Ukraine war and you took it fir granted
Nato/Us led army will arm Ukrainians to their teeth

Very true and damning.

The Ukrainians are as more rugged and dogged than their former Soviet counterparts.

The war has just begun.

Seun don push another crap from his minions to fp, thousands of Ukraine soliders surrendered to Russia today in the biggest move since the war broke out there is no mention of it on fp o.
The same daily mail that is your source reported Ukraine surrender like this

Two things are evidently clear to a logical mind.


1) The army on the Ukrainian side side are foreigners. Highly trained special forces from different countries. In reality, Putin is fighting military personnel from several countries and adequately armed too. Even if Putin wins, it will be a phyrric victory.


2.) Putin is becoming like a pariah. Very few support base on a global scale. On how many fronts can he fight? With Sweden and Finland joining NATO?

I'm neither pro- Russia or Pro-ukraine. Just an objective observer