Russian commander appears to call for use of nuclear weapons
Russian commander appears to call for use of nuclear weapons
Alexander Khodakovsky, a Russian militia commander in Donetsk, appeared on Russian state television calling for the use of nuclear weapons because he doesn’t believe Russia has the resources to win the war in Ukraine.
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0.066 -> OUTFRONT tonight.
0.867 -> We have nukes for that.
2.836 -> That is defeating Naito.
4.871 -> It is a direct threat
5.972 -> from a Russian commander broadcast
7.807 -> on Russian state TV.
9.576 -> He says Russia cannot win the war.
11.311 -> He clearly believes it is fighting
13.847 -> without nukes.
16.082 -> When you a the national resources,
18.118 -> we realize that our resources, of course,
21.287 -> have their limits.
22.422 -> And the next spiral of escalation
24.391 -> can only be
25.025 -> one nuclear nuke was more of a stimulus.
28.862 -> And we don't have the resources
30.43 -> to defeat the Naito Block
32.098 -> with conventional means.
33.7 -> But we have nuclear weapons for that
38.171 -> defeating the Naito Block
39.406 -> with nuclear weapons
40.707 -> that commanders
41.441 -> Cavaliers certainty
42.842 -> about nuclear weapons is chilling.
45.245 -> And it comes
45.979 -> as the war is now on the verge
48.181 -> of a dangerous new phase.
49.716 -> CNN is learning
50.784 -> the United States is now finalizing plans
53.119 -> to send the most sophisticated
54.587 -> air defense systems on the planet
56.923 -> to Ukraine.
58.091 -> We're talking about the US Patriot
59.926 -> missiles that Ukraine,
61.027 -> frankly, has been pounding the table
62.762 -> asking for since the war began.
65.165 -> This system can take down
66.332 -> tactical ballistic
67.267 -> missiles, cruise type militia missiles,
69.869 -> aircraft as well.
71.438 -> Now for Russia, Patriot
72.772 -> missiles have been positioned
74.107 -> as a red line.
75.275 -> The former Russian president,
76.476 -> Dmitry Medvedev,
77.477 -> has warned
78.011 -> Naito against providing
79.379 -> Ukraine with them,
80.58 -> saying that
80.947 -> if Naito
81.448 -> did that,
81.915 -> the Western alliance would immediately
83.65 -> become a legitimate
85.251 -> target of Russian armed forces.
87.954 -> Those are powerful words,
89.222 -> and based on Medvedev's
90.557 -> words, Putin clearly views
92.292 -> this move as an escalation.
94.861 -> All of this news
95.628 -> coming as air raid sirens blared across
97.797 -> all of Ukraine today.
100.767 -> That familiar, now
101.835 -> haunting sound as Putin ramps
103.87 -> up his air assault
104.838 -> with crucial help
106.439 -> from his close ally, Belarus.
109.008 -> And tonight,
109.609 -> there is word of snap
110.71 -> bell Russian
111.678 -> military drills along the Ukraine border.
114.647 -> The country's defense ministry
116.282 -> announcing what it's calling
117.617 -> a sudden inspection of combat readiness.
120.42 -> The military equipment
121.454 -> is also on the move in Belarus.
123.69 -> And remember,
124.491 -> it is a country
125.325 -> where Putin pulls the strings
127.66 -> just four days ago.
128.928 -> Here he is appearing alongside
130.997 -> the Belarussian president,
132.098 -> Alexander Lukashenko.
133.533 -> That is at an economic summit.
135.401 -> And now today,
136.536 -> the Russian military is building
137.77 -> two river crossings
139.305 -> along the Ne'eman and rising rivers.
141.708 -> Big question is whether
142.575 -> this is more saber rattling
143.91 -> or actually something more
145.545 -> in light of the escalation.
147.08 -> It is unclear at this hour.
148.815 -> But what is clear
149.883 -> is that Putin's military situation,
151.718 -> as it is, is growing ever more tenuous.
155.021 -> And OUTFRONT now,
155.889 -> Douglas London, former CIA
157.557 -> counterterror chief
158.525 -> for South and Southwest Asia.
160.393 -> He's a Russian speaker
161.394 -> who served with the CIA
163.129 -> clandestine service for over 30 years.
165.498 -> Tracking KGB agents.
167.2 -> Also with me, retired Army
168.835 -> General Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt,
170.67 -> who is also a former
171.604 -> assistant secretary of state
172.839 -> for political and military affairs.
174.941 -> Thanks so much to both of you.
176.242 -> And, General Kimmitt,
176.809 -> let me start with you.
177.81 -> Ukraine fortifying its northern border.
179.612 -> I mean, those are really powerful images
181.948 -> that Will was able to capture
183.016 -> of those trenches.
184.05 -> The Belorussian Defense Ministry
185.718 -> in a terse statement
186.719 -> announcing these snap military drills.
188.988 -> You've had all these changes
190.89 -> in the military
191.691 -> and intelligence structures there.
193.66 -> What do you think this could be?
197.43 -> Well, I certainly don't think
199.465 -> it's going to be an invasion from Belarus
201.734 -> the way that the Russians
203.036 -> invaded from Belarus.
204.204 -> But we didn't think the Russians
206.072 -> were going to invade either,
208.241 -> logically,
209.309 -> because of the size of the Belarus,
211.077 -> an army.
211.911 -> I think the best they can do
213.379 -> is draw forces away from the south
216.182 -> and away from the center of Ukraine
218.751 -> to lighten up the lines
220.42 -> along the front lines.
222.121 -> I think it's important to remember that
223.923 -> when the Ukrainians
225.858 -> did their counterattack during October,
229.195 -> they actually fainted.
230.697 -> They actually looked like
232.298 -> they were going
233.166 -> from the south
234.534 -> but their main effort was in the north.
236.97 -> So this actually could be a faint
239.772 -> so that the Russians
242.108 -> could actually increase
243.309 -> their fight in the south.
244.744 -> But as for an attack by Belarus,
246.512 -> I just don't see it
247.413 -> making any sense at all.
250.75 -> So, Doug,
251.851 -> the context here, of course, is that
254.053 -> the clock is ticking. Right.
255.788 -> But the temperatures are below freezing,
258.057 -> well below freezing,
258.891 -> and the clock is ticking and independent
260.627 -> Russian news outlet.
262.095 -> You know,
262.428 -> we were playing that conversation
264.297 -> a moment ago. Right.
265.531 -> But an independent news
266.432 -> outlet is reporting
267.166 -> that the wives of mobilized
268.501 -> Russian troops are complaining
270.003 -> and they're complaining
270.603 -> their husbands are getting really sick
271.971 -> from the poor conditions
273.373 -> that they're living under.
274.774 -> This case at a Siberian training camp,
277.11 -> they say they're living in tents
278.645 -> heated by wood burning stoves.
280.446 -> Temperatures are well below zero,
282.215 -> that any medicine that they have,
283.916 -> they actually brought themselves
285.752 -> and that they are not
286.719 -> being properly trained.
287.854 -> I mean, it goes on and on right
289.389 -> This is in the Bicol time.
290.857 -> So this is in a Russian paper.
292.425 -> And then one of the wives says Douglas.
294.994 -> And this is the thing
295.595 -> that really stuck out
296.296 -> to me, quote,
297.263 -> We believe that all this is needed
298.831 -> for a just cause.
300.066 -> We are proud of the guys.
301.601 -> We don't blame the authorities.
303.77 -> So even with all this, even with that
305.338 -> call, we heard
307.373 -> they take all that anger and frustration,
309.909 -> the absurdity of their situation,
312.612 -> they don't turn on Putin.
313.713 -> What does that tell you?
315.948 -> Well, good evening, Aaron.
317.55 -> It's not surprising.
318.618 -> It's been consistent
319.519 -> with what glimpses
320.753 -> we've seen of Russian society,
322.722 -> that they'll complain
323.623 -> about the mechanics
324.991 -> of what's going on in the war.
326.292 -> But they seem to buy into Putin's
328.394 -> narrative that Ukraine represents
330.563 -> a significant threat,
331.831 -> an existential threat,
332.732 -> perhaps that's Nazi fied.
334.634 -> And you don't really see
336.269 -> a lot of popular disenchantment
337.97 -> about fighting Ukraine.
339.739 -> You see more
340.506 -> just complaints
341.307 -> about how the Russians are fighting it.
343.142 -> And you also see
344.143 -> a great effort
344.911 -> to deflect any criticism
346.112 -> directly from Putin.
348.181 -> And putting it on the apparatchiks,
349.682 -> you know, the bureaucracy, the army,
352.985 -> which gives him more latitude.
355.188 -> And General Kimmitt,
356.656 -> as Russia continues to bombard
358.257 -> Ukrainian cities. Right.
359.492 -> You hear those those air raid sirens
361.561 -> across the country.
363.629 -> Barrages of
364.33 -> missiles come in now
365.598 -> with with with some regularity. Here.
368.534 -> CNN is exclusively reporting
370.169 -> that the Biden administration
371.404 -> is preparing to send those that Patriot
374.941 -> defense system,
375.575 -> the most sophisticated air
376.542 -> defense systems on the planet.
377.677 -> That is the long range Patriot
379.412 -> missile system.
380.847 -> What would that mean
382.248 -> to Ukraine's ability
383.583 -> to fight off Russia's air attacks?
385.084 -> Putting aside
385.952 -> that, Russia has said
386.786 -> that that would
387.653 -> be a legitimate reason
389.188 -> to target Naito itself by Russia.
391.19 -> What would it do for Ukraine's defenses?
394.193 -> Well, you do two things.
395.828 -> Number one,
396.496 -> it would significantly alter
398.498 -> the ability of the Russians
399.799 -> to send cruise missiles
400.933 -> and ballistic missiles into Ukraine.
404.003 -> The more important it would be,
405.938 -> it would
406.339 -> bolster the civilian population
408.574 -> inside of Ukraine right now.
411.644 -> Let's be very clear.
413.312 -> Putin is no longer targeting
414.747 -> in the Ukrainian military.
415.782 -> He's targeting the Ukrainian people,
418.217 -> their infrastructure, their electricity.
421.788 -> He is taking the fight to the people.
423.556 -> So putting the Patriot missiles in
426.225 -> in my view, is a wise move
427.894 -> because this deflects and mitigates
431.13 -> but does not eliminate Putin's ability
433.065 -> to take his word
434.333 -> to the people inside of Ukraine.
438.337 -> Doug, last night I spoke with
439.772 -> the recently departed U.S.
441.04 -> ambassador to Russia, John Sullivan.
443.009 -> So this is somebody who
444.744 -> recently saw Putin up close
446.412 -> or he was in that role
447.213 -> for more than two years
448.147 -> under Presidents Trump and Biden.
450.65 -> And he was with Putin directly,
453.586 -> personally in that time.
455.154 -> So I asked him about the speculation
457.023 -> that we all see about Putin's health.
459.158 -> We're showing pictures of him now.
460.66 -> So you can see a difference
461.994 -> if you just look at a picture
462.962 -> in the past two years there.
464.43 -> There is a difference.
465.231 -> And the ambassador told me
466.532 -> that Putin looks,
467.767 -> quote, puffy
469.001 -> as someone who follows Russia and Putin
470.603 -> so closely.
471.838 -> Do you agree with that?
474.44 -> You know, it's hard to speculate
476.175 -> from what we seen outside
477.91 -> identifying illnesses
479.679 -> and the state of health
480.88 -> among national leaders,
482.582 -> particularly those of our rivals
484.016 -> like Putin,
484.784 -> is a major intelligence requirement
486.919 -> for the community.
488.02 -> And I would tell you,
488.721 -> the CIA has vastly creative
490.99 -> ways of trying to get tissue samples
492.925 -> and such to try to get a better look.
494.961 -> But otherwise,
495.761 -> you're extrapolating from open data.
497.763 -> And what does it mean?
498.498 -> What are the consequences
499.398 -> if Putin is ill?
500.566 -> Does it mean he becomes more desperate?
502.668 -> Does it mean that we can look forward
504.237 -> to a change in regime?
505.638 -> And would the change regime
506.772 -> be any better?
507.54 -> Any different?
508.107 -> We're talking about
509.141 -> Putin perhaps
510.243 -> engaging the Belarusians to attack.
512.745 -> Now, here's a country
513.746 -> that within two years
515.381 -> had protests, marches,
516.549 -> of hundreds of thousands of people.
518.317 -> And you'd have to think
519.151 -> it'd be a pretty desperate act
520.186 -> that could actually reignite
521.687 -> the fire in Belarus
523.289 -> to set the stage for its opposition,
525.992 -> largely overseas, to stir
527.76 -> the emotions of folks in the country,
529.729 -> including its military.
530.863 -> So health remains a critical component.
533.132 -> But even if you know the answers,
534.667 -> it's what does it mean to you
538.271 -> All right.
538.604 -> Thank you both very much.
539.739 -> I appreciate your time tonight.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fceA70w_Cac