Former Ukrainian politician and longtime Russian collaborator Oleg Tsarev has declared that the war Russia launched against Ukraine has effectively been lost. Speaking to a Russian propagandist during an interview, Tsarev openly mocked Moscow’s delusions of seizing major Ukrainian cities like Kyiv, Odessa and Lviv, calling such dreams unrealistic and destructive.
Tsarev, who defected to Russia in 2014 and became one of its most visible propaganda figures, dismissed the idea that the Russian army could achieve any major territorial gains under current conditions. “If the Russian army advances at the rate it is now, I do not even want to say how many years it will take to ‘liberate’ the entire territory of Ukraine or at least reach Odessa. It will take decades,” he said, highlighting the scale of Moscow’s military failure.
He also condemned the war strategy chosen by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin as the worst path imaginable. According to Tsarev, the Kremlin had numerous opportunities to avoid war but instead chose bloodshed, resulting in widespread destruction and loss of life. “Russians killing Ukrainians and Ukrainians killing Russians is the worst possible scenario,” he lamented, acknowledging that the consequences have been catastrophic not just for Ukraine but for Russia as well.
Tsarev criticised Russia’s leadership for relying on propaganda and myths instead of facing reality. He particularly mocked the once-feared image of the Russian military, calling the myth of being the “second army in the world” a self-deception that backfired. “We were good at creating myths. We created the feeling of an army that was second in the world… but we believed it ourselves. That was a big mistake,” he said.
He admitted that even the initial invasion force of around two to three hundred thousand troops was too small and ill-prepared to succeed. The Kremlin’s plan to quickly storm Kyiv from Belarus, eliminate Ukraine’s democratic leadership, and install a puppet regime crumbled within weeks. Russia’s forces not only failed to capture Kyiv but were forced to retreat entirely from northern Ukraine.
The war, which the Kremlin imagined would be a swift operation, has dragged on for more than three years. Russia has lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers, and its economy and military-industrial base are being slowly worn down. Tsarev acknowledged that Russia’s vast gold and foreign exchange reserves held in the West are effectively frozen, and that the war has already cost the country far more than it has gained. “The steamroller of war is rolling… cities are destroyed. Soldiers and civilians are dying on both sides,” he said, with rare candour for someone within the Kremlin’s orbit.
His remarks reinforce what has long been clear outside Russia: the invasion of Ukraine is a catastrophic miscalculation. Putin’s belief in imperial myths and military superiority has led to a prolonged and devastating conflict that has only solidified Ukraine’s resolve and global support.
