Igor Girkin, a militant nationalist and former FSB officer who helped start the 2014 war in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas, compared the collapse of one of the main front lines to the catastrophic defeat in the Russo-Japanese War that sparked the 1905 revolution. of Russia, notes The Guardian.

Girkin, also known as Strelkov, is a Russian army veteran and former FSB officer who played a key role in the annexation of Crimea and later Donbas, where he was the de facto leader of pro-Russian military forces.

Igor Girkin said that the collapse of the Russian front line was similar to the Battle of Mukden in 1905, where Russia lost the war to Japan, followed by the 1905 revolution amid international humiliation.

Ukraine has swept quickly and seized 3,000 square kilometers since early September, when thousands of Russian soldiers fled, leaving behind stockpiles of ammunition and equipment, marking the turning point in more than 6 months.

Ihor Girkin, who very often criticizes the country’s rudderless leadership, calling Defense Minister Shoigu a “cardboard marshal”, has repeatedly stated that Russia will be defeated in Ukraine if it does not mobilize at the national level. Reuters.

National anger over Russian military failure

Nationalist anger over the military failure is a far bigger problem for the Kremlin than criticism of Putin from pro-Western liberals, while opinion polls continue to show broad support for what Moscow calls a “special military operation.”

As the capital celebrated Moscow Day with street parties and concerts on Saturday, rumors of unrest spread even in Russia’s normally reserved parliament.

Serhiy Mironov, the leader of the opposition but loyal to Putin Just Russia party, wrote on Twitter that fireworks in honor of the holiday should be canceled due to the military situation in Ukraine.

In a message published on Telegram by the well-known military correspondent Semyon Pegov, the celebrations in Moscow were called “blasphemy” and the Russian authorities’ refusal to wage a full-scale war “schizophrenia.”

“Either Russia will become itself through the birth of a new political elite… or it will cease to exist,” wrote Semyon Pegov.