A Russian military leader has branded the Ukraine invasion a failure on live TV, as Putin's grip on his troops unravels.
Commander Igor Girkin, also known by his military alias Igor Strelkov, admitted that Vladimir Putin had failed to achieve strategic success anywhere in Ukraine so far.
Since launching their attack last month, Russia has been unable to capture the capital of Kyiv or make significant advances with the UK's Ministry of Defence calling the battlefield in the north of the country "largely static".
But in a shocking admission on live Russian television, the army veteran and former FSB officer Mr Girkin predicted an "exhausting and bloody" war for the Russian Federation.
He told OSN TV: "29 days of 'special military operation' have passed.
"Nowhere, in any direction, has strategic success been achieved, but only operational successes.
"Moreover, the enemy is relatively successful in mobilising and beginning to counterattack.
"This, of course, Konashenkov never mentions in his reports."
Major General Igor Konashenkov is the chief spokesman for Russia's Ministry of Defence and deliveries regular televised updates of the progress of Russia's invasion.
The former Russia spy agent added: "Unfortunately, I can state that my most pessimistic predictions that we will be drawn into a bloody, push and pull, long, exhausting and extremely dangerous war for the Russian Federation, have been fully justified at the moment."
Mr Girkin played a key role in the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and later led the separatist armed forces of the Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine, The Express reports.
Giorgi Revishvili, a defence expert at King's College London, tweeted: "Infamous Igor Girkin (Strelkov) admitted that Russia failed to achieve any strategic goal in Ukraine, only has couple of operational success.
"He also noted that the Ukrainian forces effectively mobilised resources, timely regrouped and started counter-attacks."
Last week, Mr Girkin's adviser, Igor Druz, warned that President Putin could be forced to resign if he fails to take Ukraine.
He wrote: “I hope that the Ukrainian tragedy will neither become the tragedy of Russia nor the personal tragedy of Putin."
