SVT’s former Russia correspondent Bert Sundström has watched the attention-grabbing debate on Russian television.
– On Russian television, there is sometimes criticism of how Russia’s warfare against Ukraine is managed. But that it is presented in such harsh terms as on the channel Russia 1 on Wednesday is unusual, he says.
– Russia must face the truth, said Shakhnazarov; Russian society does not have the well-organized strength and iron discipline required to win the war, so now reform and tougher action is required. It is in and of itself a kind of criticism of President Putin, but not of the war itself.
Shakhnazarov was previously in favor of the invasion, but surprised TV audiences again in March 2022 when he said in a debate that the war must end because it was about to develop into a major humanitarian disaster, while it was not realistic that Russian forces would conquer Kiev and other major Ukrainian cities.
In the video you can hear some of the words that attracted a lot of attention in Russia.