Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul said Vladimir Putin has "failed on all" fronts, as the Ukraine war stretches longer than the Russian president had expected.
What Happened: McFaul, while counting Putin's failure in the Ukraine war in an interview with NBC News, said, "I don't see him recovering."
"Remember, six months ago, he said he was going to unite Ukrainians and Russians because Ukrainians are just Russians with accents. He failed at that. He failed at denazification. He failed at demilitarization. He failed to take the capital of Kyiv. And now he's just fighting in Donetsk and in Kherson," McFaul said.
Putin had estimated to win the war in Ukraine within weeks but faced a strong defense from the Ukrainian Army, thus prolonging the war to a new phase with no victory for Russia in sight.
While discussing Putin's decision to increase the size of his armed forces amid setbacks in the Ukraine war, he said Putin is bringing in "new troops just to fight in that stalemated situation."
"So, on the strategic level, I think he's failed in this war. I don't see him recovering," he added.
Putin, last week, signed a decree to increase the Russian Army's strength from 1.9 million to 2.04 million as the war in Ukraine enters its seventh month with a huge number of soldiers estimated to be dead or injured. The order will come into effect on Jan. 1 and will increase the number of combat personnel to 1.15 million with a boost of 137,000 men.
See Also: Zelenskyy Said Ukraine 'Reborn' When Putin Invaded The Country
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