Watching the invasion horror unfold from his Northumberland hide-out ex Russian spy Viktor Makarov is devastated to see the war he predicted has become a reality.
The former KGB agent has spent 30 years on the run after betraying his country by supplying crucial information to the British secret service during the Cold War, and still believes the Russian regime would want him dead.
But Viktor found a sense of peace and safety after fleeing to Britain and eventually settling in the Northumberland town of Haltwhistle.
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In an interview with the Chronicle in 2018, after the shocking Novichok poisonings in Salisbury, Viktor told of his fears that western leaders were not taking the threat posed by Putin seriously enough as he warned the president would stop at nothing top achieve his aims.
And today as he watches the war on Ukraine from almost 2,000 miles away Viktor has spoken of his sadness at the horrifying death toll of Russian soldiers forced to fight in a conflict he believes was wholly preventable.
The 67-year-old said: "This could easily have been prevented. If Putin had been taken seriously this would not have happened. The world leaders gave Putin the wrong signal. The reaction to Salisbury was not strong enough. All this bloodshed could have been prevented.
"Nobody in Russia agrees with this war. People are not loyal to Putin they are afraid of him."
Viktor joined Russian security agency the KGB when he was 20.
He spent 13 years as a double agent and at the height of the Cold War supplied MI5 and MI6 with crucial information about Russian spies’ penetration of secret British codes. But his cover was eventually blown and he was jailed.
After his release in 1992 Viktor, who also uses the name George, fled Russia and came to Britain.
He initially lived in the south coast and in London, but after researching the North East he decided Haltwhistle would be the perfect place to start a new life where he would not be found.
Now part of the close-knit market town community Viktor says he feels safe in Haltwhistle despite the fact his neighbours quickly found out who he was.
However, he remains regarded as one of the KGB’s most influential and daring double agents, and Viktor believes all Russian defectors remain at risk.
After former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned in Salisbury in March 2018 Viktor called on the British Government to take action to protect all former spies.
And he told of his fears that the West underestimated the threat posed by Putin and that leaders must stop trying to appease him.
Tragically Viktor's predictions proved to be right last week when Russian launched a large-scale military invasion of Ukraine.
The action, ordered by Putin has already come at a heavy price.
While accurate casualty figures are hard to come by it has been reported that as many as 5,000 Russian soldiers could have been killed as Ukraine fights back.
And repeated missile strikes on cities in Ukraine have also claimed the lives of a large number of civilians, including children.
Although Viktor now considers himself to be British he says he has been devastated by the bloodshed.
"Russia is no longer my country, it stopped being my country a long time ago," he said. "But it does make me sad to see Russia involved in this.
"The Russians have lost already 5,000 people. It is really sad to see."
As a Russian in a small Northumbrian town Viktor has spent time over recent days discussing his home country and the invasion with locals.
But he says he has faced no hostility.
"Many people ask me questions and I try to explain. It's not easy for them to understand because it's fully illogical to people in Northumberland," he said. "The people of Haltwhistle know who I am. They know the invasion is not supported by the Russian people."
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