♪.
LIZ: ALL RIGHT.
ONE THING’S FOR SURE, UKRAINE’S
WINNING.
RUSSIA’S LOSING AND SOME
INTERESTING PRESS REPORTS THAT
THERE MAY BE SPLITS IN THE
KREMLIN.
WHO KNOWS.
ANY WAY HERE TO TALK ABOUT IT IS
OUR MENTOR GENERAL JACK KEANE,
RETIRED FOUR-STAR GENERAL,
FOX NEWS SENIOR STRATEGIC
ANALYST AND CHAIRMAN OF THE
INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR.
GENERAL KEANE, WELCOME BACK,
SIR.
YOU PROBABLY SAW THIS.
I JUST WANT TO CHECK IT WITH
YOU.
RUSSIA AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.,
ANTONOV, MILITARY OFFICER AND
DIPLOMAT, YOU MAY KNOW HIM, HE
IS ON STATE-RUN RUSSIAN TV THIS
IS RUSSIA TV, HE SAID AMERICANS
ARE PUSHING US INTO NEGOTIATIONS
WITH CERTAIN CONDITIONS AND HE
MENTIONS THREE OF THEM, GENERAL
KEANE.
FIRST, STOP MILITARY ACTION AS
PART OF THIS SPECIAL MILITARY
OPERATION.
SECOND, MOVE OUR TROOPS BACK TO
WHERE THEY WERE BEFORE FEBRUARY,
AND THIRD, REPENT FOR EVERYTHING
WE HAVE DONE.
I LOVE THAT RESPENT NOW, BUT
THESE KINDS OF RUMORS ARE
SPREADING.
SPLITS IN THE KREMLIN.
PUTIN NOT WELL, WHAT DO YOU MAKE
OF IT, GENERAL KEANE?
DO YOU MAKE ANYTHING OF IT, SIR?
>> WELL, CERTAINLY IT’S NOT
SURPRISING THAT THERE WOULD BE
SOME DISCORD GIVEN WHAT IS
HAPPENING TO THE RUSSIANS THESE
LAST FEW MONTHS.
TOTALLY UNEXPECTED ON THEIR
PART, MOST OF THE REST OF US
FAIRLY SURPRISED AS WELL.
BUT, LOOK WHAT’S HAPPENED?
THEY HAVE LOST THE BATTLE FOR
KYIV, WHICH WAS THEIR MAJOR
OBJECTIVE.
THEY’RE LOSING THE BATTLE FOR
CAR KEEFE, THE SECOND LARGEST
CITY.
THERE ARE REMNANTS NORTH OF THE
CITY THAT HAVE NOT WITHDRAWN YET
AND, UKRAINE’S COUNTERATTACKING
TO DRIVE THEM OUT OF THERE, THE
SECOND OFFENSIVE, THE DONBAS,
WHICH WAS THEIR MAJOR OBJECTIVE
THEY WANTED TO ACCOMPLISH IN
SO-CALLED SECOND PHASE OF THE WAR HAS STALLED OUT SOMEWHAT.
WAR HAS STALLED OUT SOMEWHAT.
THEY MADE SOME PROGRESS IN IN
LUHANTSK, WHERE THEY HAVE OF THE
OPPORTUNITY TO CONDUCT A
COUNTEROFFENSIVE, NOT JUST A
COUNTERATTACK BUT A
COUNTEROFFENSIVE TO DRIVE THE
RUSSIANS OUT OF THE TERRITORY
PARTICULARLY IN THE SOUTH AND
EAST THAT THEY HAVE OCCUPIED.
THAT OPPORTUNITY WILL BE THERE.
IT IS REALLY, VERY IMPORTANT AND
CRITICAL FOR THE 40 NATIONS SAID
THEY WOULD HELP UKRAINE LED BY
THE UNITED STATES TO CONTINUE TO
SUPPORT THEY NEED.
THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A HUGE
OPPORTUNITY.
THIS WILL NOT BE EASY, LARRY.
THIS IS NOT FOREORDAINED OR
ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
THE RUSSIANS WILL BE ON DEFENSE
IN SOME OF THESE CITIES WHICH
FAVOR AS DEFENSE.
IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN IF THE
UKRAINIANS CAN MUSTER THAT KIND
OF A COUNTEROFFENSIVE.
I AM DONE UNDERESTIMATING THEM
AND WHAT THEY HAVE ACHIEVED IS
NOTHING SHORT OF REMARKABLE
HERE.
SO WE HAVE A LOT OF, A LOT IN
FRONT OF US HERE.
THE RUSSIANS UNDERSTAND THIS,
THEY HAVE TAKEN TERRITORY MORE
THAN THEY HAD IN PRESCRIBE TO 24
FEBRUARY THAT IS THE SOUTH AND
DOWN EAST.
THEY WANT TO GRIND DOWN THE
UKRAINIANS.
AT SOME POINT THEY THINK THERE
WILL BE UKRAINIAN FATIGUE IN THE
WEST, PROVIDING ARMS AND
SANCTIONS AND ALL OF THAT WILL
BE TO THEIR FAVOR.
TIME IS ON THEIR FAVOR AS FAR AS
THEY’RE CONCERNED.
THEY MAY GO TO A CEASE-FIRE.
UKRAINE I DON’T KNOW WHY THEY
WOULD WANT ONE UNDER THE CURRENT
CIRCUMSTANCES BUT THE RUSSIANS
MAY DO IT BECAUSE IT FREEZES
UKRAINIANS FROM CONDUCTING A
COUNTEROFFENSIVE AND ENABLES THE
RUSSIANS TO REPOSITION AND
REBUILD THEIR FORCES.
SO, YES, A LOT OF MOMENTUM HERE
ON THE PART OF THE UKRAINIANS
AND WE’VE GOT TO SEE IF THEY CAN
REALLY MOUNT A COUNTEROFFENSIVE
IN THE WEEKS UPCOMING AND BE
SUCCESSFUL TO DISLODGE THE
RUSSIANS IN THE SOUTHERN AREA.
LARRY: IT IS REPORTED, SIR, THAT
RUSSIANS HAVE LOST 1/3 OF THEIR
ARMY IN UKRAINE?
I FIND THAT REMARKABLE AND TO ME
THAT DOVETAILS INTO SOME OF
THESE REPORTS, UNCONFIRMED TO BE
SURE THERE ARE NOW SPLITS AND
DIVISIONS IN THE KREMLIN?
WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THAT?
>> WELL I CAN’T UNDERSTAND HOW
ANYBODY COULD LOOKING AT THIS
WHO IS KNOWLEDGEABLE IN THE
KREMLIN, IN MILITARY POLICY OR
EVEN THE INTELLIGENCE ARENA AND
NOT HAVE SOME GRAVE CONCERNS
ABOUT WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING ON
THE BATTLEFIELD BECAUSE THEY --
WHAT HAS TAKEN PLACE IS
ABSOLUTELY 180 OUT FROM WHAT
THEIR EXPECTATIONS ARE AND
CERTAINLY THERE HAS TO BE SOME
DISCORD AND SOME DISAGREEMENT
ABOUT WHAT THE COURSE OF ACTION
GOING FORWARD TRULY AND REALLY
SHOULD BE.
SO, YEAH, THAT’S GOT TO BE
THERE, LARRY AND I DON’T THINK
WE NEED TO BE SURPRISED BY IT
BUT LISTEN THERE IS ONE MAN
CALLING THE SHOTS HERE.
DESPITE THE DISAGREEMENTS AND
THE DISCORD I BELIEVE PUTIN, HE
IS IN CHARGE 22 YEARS, HE IS
DETERMINED, I BELIEVE IN HIS
MIND, LARRY, HE STILL HAS
ASPIRATIONAL GOALS TO ATTACK
KYIV AT SOME POINT, MAYBE MONTHS
LATER, YEARS LATER, TO TOPPLE
THE GOVERNMENT IN THE COUNTRY.
IN THE BACK OF HIS MIND HE HAS
NOT GIVEN UP ON HIS OBJECTIVES.
HE IS DETERMINED AND COMMITTED.
THAT IS WHAT MATTERS, NOT THE
DISAGREEMENT AROUND HIM.
WHILE THAT IS RELEVANT I DON’T
THINK IT IS DECISIVE.
LARRY: PUTIN MAY HAVE ACHIEVED
ANOTHER VERY IMPORTANT STRATEGIC
THING, NOT ONLY HAS HE BROUGHT
NATO TOGETHER, NOT ONLY HAS HE
STRENGTHENED NATO, HE HAS
EXPANDED NATO.
YOU HAVE FINLAND AND SWEDEN
COMING INTO NATO AND SENATOR
McCONNELL WHO WAS JUST OVER
THERE, VOTES TO EXPAND NATO
COULD HAPPEN VERY, VERY QUICKLY
IN THE SENATE.
>> YEAH.
THIS IS A STUNNING REVERSAL,
LARRY.
I MEAN THINK ABOUT THIS, PUTIN
WENT INTO UKRAINE CONDUCTING A
MILITARY INVASION.
ONE OF HIS OBJECTIVES WAS TO
STOP THE EXPANSION OF NATO WHICH
HE HAS BEEN FRUSTRATED WITH FOR
YEARS AND ALSO WEAKEN NATO AND
WHAT HAS HAPPENED AS A RESULT OF
IT, HERE, SWEDEN, FINLAND ARE
GOING TO JOIN NATO.
OBVIOUSLY THAT IS EXPANDING IT.
IT IS NOT CONTAINING IT AND THE
OTHER THING THAT IS REALLY QUITE
REMARKABLE IS THAT ITS BEING
STRENGTHENED BECAUSE THERE ARE
40,000 TROOPS, LARRY, IN THE
EASTERN EUROPEAN NATO COUNTRIES
THAT ARE THERE AS A RESULT OF
THE INVASION.
20,000 OF THEM ARE U.S. ANOTHER
20,000 ARE EUROPEAN NATO FORCES
AND THEY’RE IN THOSE COUNTRIES
TO DEFEND THOSE COUNTRIES
AGAINST RUSSIAN AGGRESSION.
SO HERE YOU HAVE NATO THAT HAS
BEEN EXPANDING AND IT IS
STRENGTHENED.
THE SANCTIONS THAT THEY HAVE
COME TOGETHER TO IMPOSE HAVE
SOME REAL TEETH IN IT AND ALSO
THEY’RE UP GUNNING AN ARMY OF
THE UKRAINIANS.
STRONGER NATO AND EXPANDING,
REALLY AMAZING TURNAROUND.
LARRY: YEP.
IT’S A MAJOR STRATEGIC BLUNDER
BY MR. PUTIN BUT WE’LL SEE HOW