in myself, as the rush of repairs to face the ukrainian counter offensive, how safety is prudent positions? thank you for inviting me. conflict zone on d w. we are all set and we're watching closely. we all seem to bring you the story behind the news. we roll about unbiased information all 3 months. done. the, a carefully choreographed of russian victory day celebration was in that showing military might on red square of this week. but as prudent presided over the parade, she had little to show for the costly winter offensive. and ukraine have russians grown tired of the fighting. my guess on complex zone is nina crew stove, a professor of international affairs at the new school in new york,

and the great grand daughter of style and successor, nikita khrushchev. she has spent months of the war in moscow as rushed up repairs to face a ukrainian counter offensive house. shaky is put in this position and it goes to the welcome to conflicts. ok. thank you for inviting me. when you spoke on this program last year, you said that exposing the shortcomings of the russian army has caused a lot of prestige damage. how much worse is it now for russia and putting himself especially on victor today? well, i think the question of prestige is no longer that, that relevant for puts in the way russia decided to continue approaching, decided to continues that we're not paying attention to things like that. but it keeps saying that the special military operation is going to be completed is going to reach you with the goals and it's no matter how long it will take. and essentially at this point, it seems no matter what kind of price it's going to take. so in some way on victor,

the day they had to paraded was slots, somewhat subdued. it was in grand, it was only 15 minutes which and spoke for about 10. but essentially, if there's a very matter of fact approach, now we are at war why she's at more and you take her to leave it. but basically russia is going to be at war. and those who are not agree with this kind of approach are going to be eliminated, but we've heard that numerous victory day parades they've been scaled back. they have been canceled. red square was close to the public since the end of april and assign of security fears. is it assigned a weakness for prudent and, and what do you think russians are making of it to? well, it is, i mean sign of weakness basically not just that, but also sign of weakness that every or almost not all, but almost every conceivable freedom of freedom of, uh, having rights, freedom of expression, freedom of free speech and so on and so forth. had been completely,

almost completely scaled back, curtailed, forbidden. so that's a weakness because week stayed for very weekly buddies and rush about has very, very weak liberties. so yes, it is a sign of weakness from the west in perspective. but from the washing perspective, it is a sight of strength is that the world is against us. it's a hybrid more major is getting closer and closer to our borders. we were right to begin the, their operation as the crumbling says, and therefore, no matter how russia or pushing or kremlin looks from the point of view of the west, they are going to push their own right away. and then why should it is? i mean that i spoke about it, it hasn't changed, it was a great sense of despair last year, great sense of disbelief for, for many, many months. and now the despair and disbelief actually turned into a complete just sort of surrender to the faith. and also a lot of anger,

a lot of anger against the crumbling, but also a lot of angry against everybody who, who pushes russia to that break as many russian c. and against that backdrop of russia has, without providing any evidence. it has accused you creative attempting to assassinate putting in a drone attack on the kremlin. there's a lot of speculation around this incident. so i'm saying it might have been stage as an attempt to gain sympathy at home, or potentially a false flag that might lead to something else. what do you think it was? what do you think the kremlin strategy might be? well, i'm, when you, when we started this set does, with, without any evidence, you know, there's, it's a war, there's a lot of things that both sides of all sides involved in it, claim that has no evidence. and yet they claim. and so sides decide wherever which side your all and decide who you're going to be. but they've been a lot of conversation about a key of actually attacking moscow,

attacking crumbling those leaks, leak documents, pentagon documents, and then we don't know exactly how true they are, but they've been suggestions there and even some evidence. apparently that key of a did have or have had such a b as we heard it from the, from the key of authorities that we know just recently will go to a tek rations on every territory. um, unless ukraine, uh, ukraine um wins. so its north without uh, you know, it's not a entire speculation to say may have been an act of a kid, the ukrainian army. it could be a full slab, but the thing is, the full slab should be then i mean, a lot of places cancelled. but the red square parade we made, that's the main square. so putting really measures this, okay to, to scan, cuz it around the style in victory, bay parades, anybody, anybody can speech today to talk about brothers and sisters. very much like styling

did during during world war 2. so it is, i think we, we really don't have enough information to say who did that. it could be ukrainians . it could be a full flag that could be sympathy. but best certainly for the russians, the worse they attacks and russia is actually, it is better for the crumbling because it allows them to push that propaganda. the war is a war and we did what we did in 1945. so it's no longer defense of what exactly defense the war and more fighting has, of course, blooming, russia and ukraine, both preparing for the next phase of the war as a ukrainian counter offensive looms pulling doesn't have in many victories as you've highlighted, ukraine's counter offensive. meantime, will be backed by thousands of new western donated armored vehicles and freshly trained troops. how high are the stakes for him right now? personally? well, the stakes are high because it is, i mean, he begin a war saying king is going to be fast and clear and all good. it didn't happen this

way so that the stakes are high, because now he's only way say to stay in power to continue to say that i am the only ones who can protect you from uh, western aggression is me. so for the, actually, the war is something that is somewhat cherished politically because he needs it. he needs it unless he wins. he actually needs the war to continue with. the loss is with the even with losses because some they would be some gain, some losses of ukrainians itself, said that it would be really difficult. and certainly the western devices said would be difficult for ukraine to take, to take back all the territory. so to some degree for both in the long, these continues as long as he can northwind, the better it is for his political standing, unless it goes so badly and so sideways then the, that the leads around him and the people in russia actually say, well,

maybe we should reconsider, but i would not see that happen quite quickly or any time very soon. there have also been reports of strikes in russian hill territories, areas around the border with ukraine and oil depot and crimea to trains the railed . if it doesn't look good for the military leadership, you, you also had wagner. chief, you gave me per goes and recently calling for more munition for his fighters and bach mood. even threatened at one point to pull his, his fighters out is the military leadership also in trouble as well? yes and no. i mean they're in trouble because they're not winning. but those strikes, by the way that you suggested actually confirm for the at least for the propaganda, the business, the criminal strikes, but also by the ukrainian side. and they are for it actually, once again, strengthens the strength, is put into argument, is that look, this striking against us everywhere. what all this western shiny weapons. so how

can you even argue that we should we lead retreat and change and change? it would be a to know the middle truth is not doing well, but he goes on with his kind of a team. bagel is a good play on his part. he's going to berries everybody and because he's so needed . so suddenly it's going to change everything in his favor. all right, i'm sorry. did of the chechen fight or the kitchen president who is sort of rough, broke maddie along with precaution 1st said what we're going to take over. but then she went a guess free, gordon too, and said well, you should have finished your job. pretty bush and said he's going to withdraw on the 10th of may. he's north withdrawing on the 10th of may. so once again, i mean yes, there's absolutely sign of coughing me and disconnect within the leads within the army. it still doesn't mean that rashid losing to the point of having completely lost the war. it's just that discombobulated sion that in fact made it allow the war to go for longer and longer,

longer. but let's get back to the public and, and what their opinion is and, and whether or not that might be changing because in russia, some pro war bloggers, they're, they're actually warning now that russia's front line could collapse in the face of the ukranian counter offensive. there seems to be growing anxiety over the capabilities of forces combined that with us estimates that some $20000.00 russians have died so far. and that's just in a inbox. moved alone, according to those estimates. what is the mood right now in, in russia? is it turning, you know, not really. i mean, i know it's just such a case of wishful thinking because it was already in fact the blog is the military beloved is as you may remember about 6 months ago, it was kind of the same anger and saying, well, we need to push, we need to do more than it's subsided, now it's rising up again. okay. but um, you know, we've, we've also parallel to that we've, we've seen rush of releasing a new foreign policy concept at the end of march,

a radical departure from the previous foreign policy concept. for the 1st time since the cold war, the kremlin has formerly made clear that it sees washington as its main adversary, which you alluded to. there. it is also had the sweeping goal that it's announced that it is a ration power. could the spring more destruction and complex, that's what the international crisis group is saying. what do you expect a legit, fictional, psychotic national goals? i mean, it's kind of sup, 13th century, suddenly in the 21st, which has been that whole war and the whole puts an idea. so all together is sort of the punch, sliding state because they talk about the unique civilization. which in fact, even in the cold war would be an s cell because in the cold war, especially up to silence, that's the idea was that they, that the socialist system is actually part of the global system. now russia efficiently says,

we are unique saying that we are going to basically very start in that it said put in is when one separately, separately taking country. i don't see, i mean i, i don't imagine rush should go any further than that. it does ukraine and even in today's speech, fulton said we are defending the gun. but so, i mean, he didn't even say we have defending the whole ukraine. he said, you know, the planning people are with defending the database so they keep kind of keep even over the sweeping goals of having rush, raise a separate civilization. their geographical claims are i, i don't want to say what else because they have not been know what sweeping the, what thing they're concerned about is the russian world. what they say road, excuse me, a bit concerned about the russian, the russian world. not necessarily in geographical terms, but in kind of this essential does not exist. central, sorry, in the, in intellectual terms, in uh, psychological terms and cultural terms and so on. so no, i wouldn't see the army going further. however,

i also don't see the army retreating in a peaceful solution. the army may be retreating, being, being forced to force back, but not because they decide to withdraw. can neighboring states though, really feel safe because um, according to linked to us documents recently the wagner group was apparently involved in an alleged kremlin lead effort to foment civil unrest in moldova, in the hopes of the stabilizing that pro western government. how concern should countries like mold over be and how much damage is put in so capable of as well? i mean, the country is like my dog but should be concerned because the country's like my dog. 3 you know, they have romanian language now is the official language. so the more drastic, the countries are against fulton's, russia, the more the more uh, damage. uh well, i don't know they have military damage, but then they're not going to subside the efforts to make sure once again,

that the russian world, little skewed me to, uh, the model, excuse me, it is in danger. so the russian world is in danger. so yes, i mean, the more drastic on to russian sentiment is the more food to eat in. the more going to give up idea of to influence it one way or another. i'd like to take it back to the domestic situation within russia right now, where as we mentioned, you have spent months of the war. in the headlines, we see opposition figures like volley like carlos in jail. and yet you have spoken previously about the silent majority resisting in russia. what evidence have you observed of that as well? i mean, i just looked at the numbers and i tried to lead the read, read the polls, and so 45 people, 45 or 45 percent of the russian population say the support the war or be annoyed against the war. 25 percent of those people actually actively supporting at

the 55 may or may not be in the let's remember that all of this when you are they ask you a question. the bullying is asking you a question. you know that your potential know that i'm not supporting the special miller transformation to lead to a ras can lead to administrative, administrative punishment, and so on and so forth. so you really have to be quite a quite courageous, but also in actually tell the story elsewhere it's, it's a silent majority and that's what i mean by silent majorities that you go into the bookstore. there's old is very petri arctic books of how great russia is. and you know what, not, and then of the middle of, of this incredible display of pictures and you'll have a george orwell mark sitting right in the middle of it and says the on the left, the bread, the thing that it said that she and this month so i buy this month because i'm thinking how, what incredible thing and then i come back a few days late and then there's another george orwell mark. so somebody to just the.