Miles added that the sanctions placed on Russia, along with NATO and other nations seeing the “mighty” KGB vet put in place, had left Putin in a dire situation.
Ukrainian warriors are humiliating Putin and his generals.
— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) September 11, 2022
“Absolutely Putin is aware of this,” the professor told Insider. “This is, I’m sure, frustrating and humiliating to him because I think he genuinely didn’t believe this would happen.”
Putin’s overconfidence in their military abilities and the West’s inclination to assist Ukraine prevented him from looking at the overall picture.
“He misjudged the resilience of the West. He misjudged the willingness of western governments and firms to take a hit to punish Russia, and certainly the willingness of Europe to imperil their supply of gas.”
And now, even though the northern defenses are holding still, the majority of the Russian forces on the frontlines have either surrendered or have returned to Moscow.
“I think this is driving him nuts. I think he’s totally miserable right now.”
“All of this is pretty humiliating for Putin, as it should be. This is legitimate humiliation on the world stage.”
Meanwhile, there is a slight possibility for Russia and Ukraine to open their channels for a peace deal. Though Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his spokesman have said they are not open to any kind of talks, SOFREP previously reported Ukraine agreeing to a version of a peace deal before the invasion happened. It is just that at the time, Putin had a change of heart.
But now that the tides have turned, Putin is ready to talk but is blaming his Ukrainian counterpart on why the deal has not been made.
“The first condition [for the meeting to take place] is that they [Ukraine] agree. But they refuse! Zelensky has announced this! He said publicly – I don’t know where, but publicly – that he is not ready and does not want to talk to Russia.”
After Kharkiv was reclaimed, Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs Servey Lavrov said Moscow was not opposed to negotiating with Ukraine.
“We are not opposed to negotiations, but those who are must realize that the longer they delay this process, the more difficult it would be fore them to reach an agreement with us.”
Russia’s standing proposal is to have Crimea, including Kherson and Kharkiv, as part of their nation. Some of the regions on their list have already been liberated by Ukrainian forces, so it is understandable why Ukraine is standing firm on its announcement that the only time they would open their channels for negotiations is only when “Russia withdraws from the Ukrainian land.”
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