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retired Colonel Cedric Leighton, military analyst, and Andrei Sol
the Russian investigative journa whose new site has been blocked
He's the author of The Compatrio
the Russian Exiles Who Fought Against the Kremlin.
And some new reporting for us to about what's going on inside the
And I do want to get to that in just a moment.
First, though, Colonel Leighton from the report
you just see from Ben the brutal fight for solider.
And as Ben said, the Ukrainian tactic, a key
one there in this town, which is such limited strategic importanc
is to kill as many fighters of t group as possible.
Right.
Talking about one, Ukrainian sol saying that they had taken a cap
Remember the Wagner group?
He said only three members of hi member platoon or even still ali
Is it is this toll for Russia, c
in any scenario worth it to win that when it had people lived in
because now there's no structure left essentially had only 10,000
Yeah, Erin, you know from our st from a Western viewpoint, we wou
there's absolutely not worth tha you don't put that many soldiers
You don't let that many soldiers for something that is really not
that has been decimate it like like you described and been desc
But from the Russian point of vi especially from Putin's point of
any type of victory is important
And what he's doing is he is finding a place
where he can not only make this but take it over.
And that is why solider has beco so important to Putin.
It is a symbolic issue.
And like you said earlier,
perhaps Pyrrhic victory, but if he does go through with i
it will be a victory that he can then tout in his propaganda orga
And that's really what he's doin
Andre, I want to show again that video that I shared just a
with everyone.
This is new video of a massive e
They see soldiers walking down t
They go into that building with top and then it explodes.
We understand that building was was housing Russian troops,
25 of them, obviously, unclear.
But they walk in and then it's targeted by the Uk
So when you look at that and you just so much death, one explosio
25 lives lost.
Why is solid are so important to
Well, it is important not only f but also for the generals.
Remember that all the things the Russian army has been doing
for the last six months was losi territory and soldiers for nothi
And the Russian army got a permi to withdraw from song, only prom
something on the battlefield, some sort of success, some victo
And that is why the generals were so desperate to get this su
And solidarity.
And that is why we have this biz infighting
between the general centric noti who is the author of this victor
And, of course, these people that do not think of soldiers li
No, no, they don't.
It just it is unbelievable to think about it, though.
And, Colonel, the pressure this need for any kind of a victory,
even though it isn't even a vict at all, is what we heard from Pu
You know, so he has this meeting with his minister of trade and i
and talking about getting orders for military and civilian aircra
Right. Where are they? Where are
So I played a moment, played it a moment ago.
He then went on to berate the mi saying it's taking too long,
much too long.
Do we not understand the circums we are in?
You know this after he said, why are you fooling around
It was it was incredible to see publicly, Colonel, which, you kn
certainly may be a sign
of his psychological state, but it was not by accident or by
Only.
That's right. And daring. You know what he's doing here?
He is.
He's actually showing the Russia that he is the strong leader.
And this plays fairly well with the audiences in Putin's base.
And what he's trying to do is show that he is, in fact, in
He's the one demanding accountab
He's the one that is telling thi a junior minister,
that he needs to step it up
and make the aircraft production in this case, work for him.
And that's that's something that
But it's also pointing to one ot and that is this, that the Russi
industrial base is not keeping u with the demands of this war.
No, no, not even close. Right.
And we see with ammunition and.
The 75% drop in their their abil to do that.
So, Andre, in this context, I want to ask you about your rep
You point to a telegram post just the other day
where Dmitri Medvedev, the forme president of Russia, the current
head of the Russian Security Council, says, and you quote him
In time of war, there have alway special rules and quiet groups
of impeccably inconspicuous peop who effectively enforce them.
It sounds ominous.
And it is.
You say it's an open call for th assassins to deal with Russians
Tell us about this.
Yes, it is.
His outburst of anger was caused an interview done
by a famous Russian artist small
And he was very critical of the
He attacked the war waged by the and that was used as an excuse
by Medvedev and not only by him, by the members of the Russian pa
to State Duma to voice some new
against people who left the coun
I was still spoke against as a w
and a number of measures are rea
why that's about
confiscation.
Of the property, selling off the passports,
stripping of citizenship, which reminds me of the Soviet U
And finally, Medvedev as you sai he openly called
for the use of of assassins,
which I know we know we hear about Russians
prominent Russians business people being killed overseas.
But but you say that this is a step beyond.
But this is different.
Yes. Because officially the Russ
the Russian special forces are killing abroad on the terror
So we have had the Russian legis
Now we have Medvedev openly saying that it's fine
to kill people who just speak against the Kreml
All right. Thank you both very m
I appreciate it.
Colonel, your time and Andre you and the new reporting you just s
Thank you.