Volodymyr Solovyov, a TV host who is considered to be Russian President Vladimir Putin’s favorite propagandist, had a moment of introspection as he pondered whether launching a “special forces operation” was a good idea.

“Now about the issue of rationality. This is probably the most interesting question. It will soon be almost 8 months since the start of the operation, and… well, it is clear that this is no longer a special military operation,” says Solovyov.

Then he turns to the favorite conspiracy theory of Russian television in recent months, which has been actively promoted to explain the repeated defeats of the Russian army on the battlefield.

“It is obvious that we are at war with NATO. In addition, the entire status of NATO is present here [în Ucraina]. His fighters are there, like everyone else. I’m not even talking about technology, information… it’s all there,” he claims.

After a long sigh, the TV presenter asks: “Can we not start? [operațiunea militară specială] On February 24, now that I have seen everything, what happened?”.

The BBC’s Francis Scarr notes that, however, after a few moments of introspection, Solovyov then declares that “there is no doubt that Ukraine was seriously preparing for war.”

“Therefore, no change of position. Russia continues to be a victim,” concludes the British journalist, who became famous after the start of the war on February 24 thanks to the monitoring of Russian media and television.

A day ago, a video recording of Solovyov’s comments in 2008 regarding the prospects of a war with Ukraine circulated on social networks.

“Let me state the facts: there will never be a war between Russia and Ukraine, because anyone who seriously attempts such an act is a criminal. Moreover, I can’t even imagine how big a criminal he is,” he said 14 years ago at an event at the Moscow Art Theater.

Other footage, recorded years ago and “unearthed” by netizens in early September, also showed the Russian propagandist in a slightly more relaxed mood, presenting a New Year’s show organized by one of the Russian TV channels in 2013.

Volodymyr Solovyov, disappointed with the development of the “special forces operation”

But after the start of the war in Ukraine, he earned the reputation of Putin’s favorite propagandist, being one of the most belligerent TV presenters in Russia.

More recently, he has been frustrated by the war in Ukraine and the Russian military’s performance, nervously asking on last week’s show where all the Russian troops who are supposed to make up the world’s second largest army are.

“But I am asking for the 156th time, we have two million people in the army, we have 150 thousand special forces. And they kept telling us, “It’s just the ground forces, but it’s not just the ground forces that are involved [la război]but also the aerospace industry and the navy,” he said.

“We have two million, of which 150,000 are real soldiers. I have a simple question: can these guys be drafted into the army? Where are the two million soldiers? 1,150,000 – who are they? Where are they?”, the Russian propagandist asked rhetorically.

Earlier in October, he bemoaned the Ukrainian army’s “greediness” to attack, saying it had been emboldened by the collapse of the Russian front in Kharkiv and the rapid fall of Liman in the Donetsk region.

In late September, he also sharply criticized the way the partial mobilization ordered by Vladimir Putin on September 21 was carried out, saying that some recruiting officers should be shot.

Follow the latest events of the 232nd day of the war in Ukraine LIVETEXT on HOTNEWS.RO.