a can entry, we love europe, we love diversity, and anything unusual, no mountain is too high, and no road is too long. in search of the extraordinary we are the specialists of lifestyle, europe, euro macs, on d, w. 9 sham referendums in the occupied regions of ukraine and more russian troops are drafted into battle. but the protests are increasing across the country. i guess this week had his own unique protest, very spun very off. foreign service veteran resigned in shame of the war and ukraine, the only russian government official to do so in public. what are the chances of

putin surviving the conflict? he started, he put himself in the situation where there's no, with these elect male friends. it's the only instrument you try to get himself out as the war goes on, how real is the nuclear threat and why the russian officials believe the west wouldn't retaliate against the nuclear strike from moscow. i respond better off welcome to conflict zone. allow team. before we talk about your personal story, i'd like to deal with some of the latest events going on in the russia ukraine war . let's start with the so called referendums, taking place in 4 ukrainian regions occupied by russian troops. asking people if they want to join russia itself, since no one is going to believe the result. why bother with this? i think it's like the mystic consumption people within the rush. it

is all right. ready those people in these new creat republics are really wishing to join my russian. so it's given the government no reason to to continue the world not to give the people for media or song region and so on. so it's do more domestic relations. and you think the domestic population is that gullible, that they're going to believe it. they know by now that russia doesn't hold elections unless it fixes them in advance of it. well, you know, the rest of ablation, which is the main problem is, has been so far, very different. what's going on. oh, science, so to speak. so it's only these days. some of them are starting to understand that

the war is much closer than it was then they thought it was so yeah, i think. ready it's still believing that they can't sell any anything to bid things 3 people will now we've seen in the last few days after chaos over the partial mobilization, which put in ordered. the kremlin says it's drafting $300000.00 troops to ukraine. other reports say around a 1000000, how much difference do you think these extra troops will make because the failure so far haven't been caused by troops shortages have they, they've been caused by low morale, poor logistics weapons that haven't worked poor command structures. that's been the problem, hasn't live. yeah, i guess so. i believe that these new numbers do a new the com, all at once to the front line. they will not change the course, or they will only make it more slow for russia to, to,

to the war. because the army that had been being so far very incompetent in terms of stress, in terms of military planning, implementing the ration. and so it's sort of so so for now the main superiority by say, so oh, the russian army in comparison to the was. ready the numbers, the numbers, so i think they can only find the numbers. one of your most powerful criticisms of the russian government that you served is that it's part of a system that deceives itself. is that the military's problem as well. it's been deceiving itself about its capabilities, about its weapons, the state of its preparedness, this kind of thing. yeah, sure, sure, this is absolutely all branches, but rather than it is all build on these lives cells. so cells

competing rewards and so on. so we're going to see it by the database in the 1st place. it's just that he missed his own brain. and the ability to bring in the reaction of the west was all great. mystical ation based on misinformation you received from me to support a 1000000000 service from means of defense and so on. but do russian officials even know where the truth really live any more? well, it's hard to say that because i think the very low level people who work really in the field so they know the truth. but while they're being reported prior to it, it's in many ways. ready it's no surprise, the decision makers on the chain. they sell the information which

is not reflecting reality for over 20 years that you worked in the foreign ministry. you said the level of lies and unprofessionalism was increasing all the time. is that what was demanded by the bosses just tell the gramm then what they want to hear. that's it. yeah. yes, because if you reported to my school. ready the situation is not always favorable to us, they might make things that you don't work well enough and that will. ready make your career prospects less right then you. ready expect so everybody wants to please now school to show that they were being very hard and then you've got some theory promotions and all. so that's, that's your belief. and you said in may that you had recently seen misleading

information cable to moscow because that's what they wanted to hear. what was that information most that it was the, the russia, russian interest, russian positions regarding the world is very widely shared by many countries. but the russia isolated that the western. ready physicians off walls and everybody understands the walls for instance. it also goes to the chemical, scandalous about these 3 boys on the land boys for, for instance, and some other things. so it is, you know, these reports. ready being when you, when you have to report the truth, but you have to you guys and so nobody understand blevins. it's kind of what that, this is a very bad art. you're, you're very scathing about the foreign minister said a lover off,

did you expect better from him? you say he sent to mind the degradation of the system? well, well, he came down a lot of illusion where we are unable to what we see now. another symbol of this system, we should now deny the reality so i don't expect anything from the anything wrong with the galler. i'm here for them and i think that it will. ready all see the collapse of this is when it collapse. yeah. i base based on what all the lives that they've told they suddenly realize, but nothing is true that everything's going wrong. and it's too late to do anything about it is that, is that the scenario that you foresee?

i will do that. that is all. but it depends on the war and it's out. but i don't see russia and the real story of this, it can be used on the worst. and congress star sublime and you bring it all the way around as well. so just be doing the way in all other scenarios, you will have to retreat. you will have to go down and down. it will be very hard below because it's being in the run up to the invasion when rushing diplomats all over the world were ridiculing the idea of war. did you know the putin was going to invade the us knew about it last thought him and said, so did. did you know, did people in your embassy? no, this was going to happen now. well, it was the information. all the decision on was not the word close to almost anyone. so it was only personal guessing whether you will decide to wait or not.

i personally didn't believe because i would foreseeable the consequences that this invasion will do. ready house, i was pretty sure that law school also has this knowledge of this understanding, but evidently they didn't. evidently, they may speak with me as i said how moscow lied to its own embassies as well as to everyone else. oh, well yeah. i wouldn't say. ready like they just don't tell anything that they don't want. ready to tell at the embassy, just the thing that you said what disturbed you most in the russian embassy was the casual way. some of your fellow diplomats talked about nuclear strikes against the west, even though they worked in arms control. did they have no idea how these nuclear

strikes that they were talking about might lead to world war 3? or the consequences of that? you know, these very dangerous thing is that the whole thing about this stuff to do with you. ready to, to make numerous rice against the west. again, the 1st place people are sure that there will be no to the west, will just swallows and just to the knees. and let's say, let's again, ok, we're ok. let's, let's make a really believe that what, what makes them believe that i think it's a very old and con prejudice regarding the westerners in russia that there were some people. ready very weak and where it pampered because they are very used to comfortable that you know and then are ready to sacrifice like for the war because

every war makes it makes, it makes people funny. and we were known to all the world that we can stop up or as long as it takes. well, it's not the worst, but it and the people who me big systems, they also share this view. at one point you asked your former colleagues if they'd be happy for their children to live in radioactive ruins, and they simply reply, this is about values traditional russian values as opposed to those of the decadent west. so in their minds it's ok to blow the west if the west doesn't share these wonderful russian values because it's all these talk about imagined because no one can really imagine what will be what that what will be. and they just tried to make themselves more confident about that,

but i believe that some decisions can be made on these are ross and fortunes. in the last few days, we've heard more threats from mister, put in more unrest across russia itself. some common trees have suggested that amid all this chaos putins power is beginning to drain away, do you by that scenario. i think that this. ringback bill is age range of the of the k is reading but this is the last reserves. ready weapon mailed it to me to me. so we have a rest in the, in the region, the country. yes. that's all i got to do the rest and to remodel will be

rising the coming days. how long can you make as many mistakes and joke up as many failures as he has and remain in par these days in russia? it's hard to say it's hard to say, i think the fatal regime is very strongly dependent on. ready that the heart of offensive but successful graham did make a blow additional, the russian army, the russians are even with the, in the supporters. so he. ready will continue and i will. ready continue getting or defeats by an army that the rail it'll be career might be i guess my question is more about the, the hard line, political and security elite in moscow. they're not exactly known for having

a forgiving nature. how much of this, how much more of this will they put up with, do you think, i mean, we've got a long list of failures. we have the failure to take care of the failure to arrest the landscape. the failure to hold on to the territory that they've captured high casualties. hardware that doesn't work, poor morale, you have to put in has to be running out of political capital at home. doesn't do well. well, because we cannot judge because we don't have any information. it's very close, but there's no doubt that the russian that leads us please now and a lot of them want to, to change started the john paul. but i think the for now the most powerful figures around which all armed forces, special services deal, stick into him for some reasons, maybe they don't believe that can resolve the situation like he was general,

were loyal to human, to the very 1st. so all they can not get nation to think about the future without themselves without power. so it's very difficult to break it, but it's, it's natural that there will be most believes and we will, i think we will see it by nea. if you strip away over the lies the accusations, the propaganda, do you in your own mind, have a clear idea why putin started this war. yeah, she started this. ready war because he wants to stay in power once you're struggling for lifetime and since he cannot sell in any success. ready economy is shrinking if it seems just off the team,

the end of the daily life, most people in russia has be deadly. he can only spell some military successes. that's why he wanted to read because it, it is, all right, like all the race, russian rules defense russian interest. and so that would work for some years like to work with brain and he just wanted to repeat this premium excise. so this idea that he felt threatened by nato, and he thought nato countries were trying to, in circle russia. although how you in circle a country that has 11 times and then is 10 percent or 11 percent of the wealth land mass. it's difficult to imagine, but all that's nonsense, all that was nonsense, was it? that may be a 2nd thing. it was thinking about, but i think you the interest over securing the person of power. the most important

looking also this is it's not about me. it's about possible western interfering listening to domestic affairs in order to instigate progress within a few places. they feel the. ringback all this within the boundary cannot just be created by the people that they said despite it's only it's only arbitrated by the west. ready it's another thing, but the 1st reason is just to do to semantic, to group to power. does he want to fight with nato? i hope not, but you know, he put himself in the worst because no. i think these bless my reps in the only instrument he was to try to get some still out considering how you've denounced the war and the lies of the russian government. how worried to

you about your own safety? i. i don't really think about this. ready my belief that now when i leave it in such a dangerous time that we all must think about the safety of more than our individual . ready so that's, that's my, that's my answer, but i don't think much about a whole spate of key figures, business men, people in society who may or may not oppose the war have landed up dead recently many seem to have had an expected accident or jumped out of upstairs windows, not a coincidence. is it opperation on the way? isn't there in russia? yeah, it's very suspicious incidentals. yes. i have no information about that. i think both these cases should be together. but why wouldn't it? let me come back to the issue of nuclear weapons because several west and officials

among them america's national security advisor say they've spelled out to the kremlin the exact catastrophic consequences of going nuclear. do you think in any way that will deter putin your control business will not well deter us even worse when both sides a whole lot to this by the session, both parties are reasonable and they don't want to die. and they just want to to keep your diversity at the distance in this case. well, it's simulating, but that's what is it, he is not quite reasonable, or maybe he is really reasonable. we don't know. so we've done that. he may come on to talk to donaldson, your strengths,

we don't know. so in this case if we deal. ready with a man or that if it's okay to start, what then deterrence may not work if russia really intends to use a nuclear weapon, what would be the signs to look out for? do you get any of these signs now? do you see any of them signs that moscow is reading its nuclear arsenal for use? well, i know they need to know that's difficult details which would show a lot of it must be really. ready raising its troops or drivers. so i believe that the intelligence gathered by the western classes is much more reliable and they went out in the depth. no such science. but i got to read the whole bliss temple by the rush, and some troops were distributed in all radiation. radiation

deals. so something, at least they will be in red in one place. i don't know, maybe it's just a proper dentist. so i don't know the rhetorical russian leadership and a nuclear live my own way, february 24th. so if we judge by rhetoric, you can say that they were ready to. ready new dr. since the beginning of the war, but it's not sole evidence. so whether they will be ready to start the new offering. that's. that's a big question. as it appears that some of the fail safe mechanisms designed to prevent nuclear war have in part, been eroded. i'm talking about direct communications between senior russian and american military leaders. these appear to have stopped how dangerous is that

the did that is very dangerous because those, those communication channels very useful, see the current being process. and they did it aloud to the key military commanders to talk directly with each other's degrees in the village. ready it war, but the current situation when both sides do not trust the child, so to speak, the channels me, i'm just working so under those circumstances, how easy would it be for one side to miss read the signals of the other and launch a war on a false understanding of the facts is very probable, very probable. rational, i'm sure is very, very nervous about any possible science. i don't know, attacks or any other interference wasn't as possible united states into the brain

war. so they can, i don't know what, what, what the read last are, what was they are some read was. so they can be very well, is we always assume the russian leadership has been very inadequate. cindy, so it's very hard to stay out. ready the perceived information they get from the front line from the navy classes so they can decide something, something in the, in imaginable without real real reasons for that. the reason. ready so what you're saying is that this could all get out of hand very quickly. i would say that if john get out of but also the rest of that is, well,

i think it is not to need the cancer is due to not so i don't know someone from them to styles or maybe maintain that will do is it rationally it around maybe a 2nd or 3rd, esl and rush hour to, to present them. that is the only obstacle at the end of the normalization level, relation to gallons which must be gone with his blows, blows, policies. and then the situation may be like 1st that i think that may may go to those people. ready to, to rally with the tech vital to try and keep as many communications open as possible communication chance. yep. yep, sure. maybe not. maybe she shouldn't be isolated from he supports that that the work lead the ration i lead. it's a. ready very important,

but he spun that you're off. thank you very much for being on conflict. so it's good to see a, a a

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