Exiled Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky discusses President Vladimir Putin's mindset and what his remaining options are in the war against Ukraine.
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Ex-Russian oligarch says one moment in war drove Putin ‘insane’
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RIP to all the bravest warriors who lost lives defending Ukraine
@Cropper Copper I am still to understand what you are talking about.
Is Kamala Harris any close relative of yours?
L
Khodorkovsky is absolutely right. It’s personally frustrating to see that some European countries think that this war is about Ukraine. It is not. It’s just the first stepping stone. The European status quo is over. Things will never be the same.
All European countries must realise that Ukraine is not just defending itself, but the rest of Europe too. Every country must support Ukraine as if the war is happening on their own territory, because it would be, were it not for Ukraine.
@awang belantara very funny. they are cut from the same cloth – neither ought to be world leader.
🐑 glory to sheep 🐑
@A Campbell
That’s why
Nuclear Submarines
we’re invented !!?
I loved it when he called Putin an “elderly criminal.” Spot on.
Thank You Very Much , my gratitude !😀
@joe logjam ” it won’t look so suspicious when he dies “peacefully in his sleep” surrounded by “people who cared very deeply about him”.”
i was with you up until ‘ppl who cared deeply about him.’
@joe logjam you seriously made me LOL with that comment! 😂
Agree with everything he has said. Dictator’s of course must be managed carefully but they only understand strength and power.
Russia are burning through so much ammunition and missiles. The sanctions will prevent them getting materials needed to replenish their better weaponry, and besides it’s very expensive. Russia can’t win this war they started. Huge numbers of troops mean nothing if you can’t supply them, move them around fast enough and feed them. Also we see their planes and helicopters up close and they are very over rated. Their ships are poor too and many shortcuts have been taken in building their military hardware. Russia is very cheapskate
Thank You Very Much , my gratitude !😀
Same “Force” should be shown to Russia, as done on Ukraine. An eye for an eye!
Someone in Putin’s inner circle needs to step up and do the right thing.
I didnt realize he had such a Stalin like grip on his country
If they were capable of doing the right thing, they’d never be in his circle to begin with
Kind of what others are thinking. This is not solely about Ukraine in Putin’s eyes. This is just the starting point to what’s to come for the US and the other NATO countries. We should give Ukrainians everything they need plus more. As for the fighter jets they need, let them into Poland to “steal them.”
“…..OMG OMG FINALLY SOMEONE WHO GETS IT, I said, all needs too be done is having a safe passage too the fence of POLAND 🇵🇱 for the airmen from Ukraine 🇺🇦 & all POLAND needs too implement a didn’t see, didn’t know, didn’t ask, when the UKRAINIAN airmen come too take some fighter jets”!!! “…BOMBS AWAY TOOTIN PUTIN, enjoy your gifts”!!! G-MOMMIE
Hi there, how are you?
@Liberty Outdoor Adventures Thank you…. YouTube’s leading military strategist.
@Mogg Piano no but more than most. 3 combat tours in Afghanistan as well as running a joint checkpoint with Russian Airborne in Kosovo. So I have some idea what I’m talking about.
Had the same thought!
He is absolutely right about every aspect of this war and Putin. He’s also absolutely right criticizing the French president. His efforts are only bringing more disaster — not intended.
@Michael Cobb Q: Okay and then finally I apologize if I missed this, but when you were talking about Wagner Group, do you know where they’re coming from? General Townsend had told VOA earlier that there was recruiting going on in Africa. Can you tell us where they’re coming from, specifically? Is it Syria? Or —
MR. KIRBY: I couldn’t give you — I couldn’t give you the roster and — and, you know, where every single employee of the Wagner Group are coming from. All I can tell you is that we do think they are going to prioritize the Donbas area, that we have indications that they’ll — that they plan to put a thousand or so of their contractors in Donbas. Where they’re all coming from, I don’t know.
We have seen indications that the Wagner Group is recruiting in places like Syria and places like northern Africa, Libya, but how many are of that thousand or so or where they’re — I just — I don’t have that level of detail. The point is that it’s just another example of how Mr. Putin is going to — is going to throw more energy into trying to — to occupy the Donbas.
Now to what end, we’re not exactly sure. Certainly, so far, he has not been successful in that either, but — but we believe that they’re — that they — they are going to prioritize that part of the country.
Q: (Inaudible) recruiting in Libya (inaudible) —
MR. KIRBY: I said we’ve seen them say — we’ve seen the indications that they want to recruit out of places like North Africa and — and Syria, yes.
Q: Specifically Libya?
MR. KIRBY: I said Libya, yes.
Q: To fight in Ukraine?
MR. KIRBY: Yes.
West understand what this man is saying: stand up and show force not weakness.
Lol, go show your force then
@Christine D yess I will
Sooooo brave. As long Russia stays outside of NATO. Suck go be ukraine
For God sake listen to what this man is saying. He’s got it. He understands it
That’s what happens when Porpaganda meets reality fucking CNN 🤣
@Luis Ricardo Bras you have an unhealthy with a false narrative and should seek help. Not everything’s about your own personal drama.
@Danimoto Maga he really, really is. As is the guy right below you.
Meh
This is fascinating to hear…That the people of the country Putin was invading didn’t greet his soldiers with flowers drove him insane. We can all now attest that Khodorkovsky uses the term literally. It’s crazy how you can go from being actually crazy, to…Well, crazier.
“Elderly Criminal”, “Narcissist”,”Insane”.
I thought Khorokovsky was accurate in his description of the former, defeated ex- president….& his boss.
Absolutely 🙌🏼 yes! & his boss🤣
This is a perfect interview. The journalist, perfect.Khodorkovsky perfect, the interruptor perfect. Thank you CNN.
love how the interviewer just let him talk, didn’t interrupt or spend the whole time asked by meandering questions, as is the norm on CNN
If the interruptor has an opening, maybe you could hire him. =p
The *interpreter was stuttering the entire time, what are you talking about?
I hope y’all didn’t mean the translator cause that was the only shitty thing about this interview.
The most important thing you should know. This person would be honest to the war in Chechnya and the fact that criminals have become in power. And now he’s on TV like a good one. Ask the Ukrainians how they feel about him, I think they know that if it was profitable he would support the war.
The most valuable lesson I learned as a child is that you have to stand up to the bully. There is no other way and it is inevitable. So the sooner the better. Otherwise the bully get emboldened and even more people get hurt. It is scary to stand up to a bully but must be done.
Thank You Very Much , my gratitude !😀
@Carl Bitney Yes, that is the scary part.
Bullying emanates from a way of thinking: that might is right, that raw power gives one the rights to dominate. When a seemingly feeble – but secretly strong – guy suddenly beat the hell out of a bully, we applaud. That’s one bully out. But for the bully, his doctrine is intact – he would just think that now he is at the wrong end of a bully world. Might is still right.
A bully must be defeated with Reason. Force of Reason, not Reason of Force. Reason is the one that would gather the civilized community, enforce collective action, and would demonstrate that bullying is not an accepted act in a decent community. Bullies must realize that bullying is an attack on the community.
We must destroy bullying as a way of thinking. Unfortunately, bullying (might is right) is constantly being subconsciously perpetuated in the media by hollow idolizing of people for their physical prowess.
My Apache uncle told me “Never be the one who starts a fight. Be the one who finishes it.” In first grade, I beat up the (male) school bully and told him to never touch my friends again. He respected that order.
“The world has enough for everyone’s needs, but not enough for everyone’s greed.”
enough what, sure is not fresh water or sustainable food,because half the world cant grow food,but they can sure breed people
Tupac Shakur
“They got money for war but can’t feed the poor” – Tupac Shakur
Excellent interview. Putin has lost his mind. Tiptoeing around a madman is a failed strategy. The floor of a settlement begins with restoration of of what has been lost (physical damage to Ukraine, losses to countries reliant upon Ukrainian farm products, lost income) and return of Crimea and Donbas area in the condition prior to 2014.
Great interview with a person who once challenged Putin and then was thrown into prison for 10 years for that. It is true that Putin understands only the language of force, because he grew up among Leningrad criminals.
@Angiebear insights are valuable as long as they are taken with a grain a salt. That being said for this guy to sit there and say Putin has plans on attacking NATO countries is a bad joke, not even Putin is suicidal, he is aware of mutual assured destruction. Clearly this guy is enjoying his time in the spot light and being able to openly bash on the guy who sent him to prison for tax evasion.
@Anthony Berger and the problem with that train of thought is according to Russian military doctrine, nukes are not a last resort policy, and the problem is further compounded by the fact America maintains a “first strike” nuke policy as well.
Now that we are clear on nuke policy, Putin is ex KGB, he may be cocky but he is not a idiot and does know what happened to Nazi Germany, this man is not a raging lunatic and knows there is now way Russia can take on the entire planet, don’t be that naive.
@Bear Future maybe.
I’d like to comment that a translator in this interview is doing an Excellent job. Maintaining this level of accuracy to convey exact words by Mr. Khodorkovsky by means of simultaneous interpretation is quite remarkable. Kudos to this gentlemen and to all other professional interpreters out there!
I could mentally see him sweating, he was working so fast on the interpretation. You are right. Excellent job (we hope).
@Tatiana Glare I was married to a Sicilian and never got the dialect. Husband would translate less than 10% of what I said to friends and family as they didn’t do Italian and I didn’t do sicilian. Very frustrating. It takes more than vocabulary to be a good translator.
Hi there, how are you?
My thoughts exactly, his translation is remarkable, quite precise I must say.
Totally impressed with this man’s analysis. Also, props to the interpreter!
I think this is the most important conversation I’ve heard so far in the war. I hope everyone listens carefully to this man and takes his words to heart. He is a very credible resource on these matters, and his assessment is a dire warning.
Everyone should listen to this guy, some of the important things he said:
– Putin only respects power, if he senses weakness, then it will motivate him to attack more.
– If he’s allowed to take some parts of Ukraine, then the next step will be the Baltic countries.
@Major Tom I agree that it will take time for the Russian military to recover but where are you getting the 20-25 year recovery period from? What hard evidence are you basing that on?
“Putin only respects power…”
I think this is exactly why Putin started talking about nuclear weapons when things started going sideways in Ukraine. This invasion not being over in a week or so makes Russia look weak. Putin knows exactly how he would view the situation if the roles were reversed. He really has no choice but to assume that Europe sees weakness, hence the threats.