- A legendary Russian chess champion and Kremlin critic said Putin has “lost” the war in Ukraine.
- But Garry Kasparov told the Kyiv Post that this won’t stop the Russian leader from causing more death.
- Putin is willing to put thousands of civilians “into graves” to try to cling to power, Kasparov said.
Garry Kasparov, a legendary Russian chess champion and prominent Kremlin critic, said Russian President Vladimir Putin has “lost” his unprovoked war in Ukraine.
In a interview with the Kyiv Post published on Monday, Kasparov — a former World Chess Champion and political activist — said he’s encouraged by the success of Ukraine’s counteroffensive, but warned that loses won’t force Putin to give up on the war.
“Basically, the war is lost. All of the objectives that Putin declared … all of them failed,” Kasparov said. “Continuing the war is the only way for Putin to stay in power and to create extra chaos in the free world, hoping that maybe winter could offer him new opportunities. It’s a desperate attempt to protract the agony.”
He continued: “Putin’s desperate attempts to stay afloat will put thousands and thousands of people — both in the frontline and innocent civilians — into graves in the months to come before the Ukraine is … liberated.”
Ukrainian forces have launched counterattacks in the country’s northeast and south over the past two weeks as they try to reclaim territory occupied by Russian troops.
Over the weekend Ukraine achieved a significant breakthrough by nearly pushing Russian troops out of the northern Kharkiv region, home to the country’s second-largest city. Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces said on Monday that its forces are continuing to free settlements in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, forcing Russian troops to “quickly abandon their positions and flee.”
Russian troops have reportedly put on civilian clothes to escape.
Britain’s defense ministry shared in a Monday statement that Ukraine’s advancements have forced Russia to withdraw troops from a large chunk of the Kharkiv region, and many of its soldiers are being forced into “emergency defensive actions.”
Since the start of September, Ukraine has recaptured around 1,250 square miles of territory once under Russian control, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday.
“These days, the Russian army is showing its best — showing its back. And, in the end, it is a good choice for them to run away. There is and will be no place for the occupiers in Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.
