Russia's Ukraine Offensive 'Absolutely Senseless': Ex-Military Leader

Russia's continued actions in Ukraine have been deemed "senseless" by a former Russian military leader.

Called a "far-right nationalist" by outlets like The Guardian, Igor Girkin previously served in the Russian military as a Federal Security Service officer, playing a part in the operations that led to the annexation of Crimea. He also later served as the de facto leader for separatist forces in the Donbas, a contested breakaway region of Eastern Ukraine that became the focal point of the 2022 invasion. He ultimately departed office after Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over the region.

Writing under his alias, Igor Ivanovich Strelkov, Girkin posted to his Telegram account on Sunday, commenting on development in the Ukrainian conflict and criticizing the Russian military's tactics. He began the post by observing that the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to launch artillery attacks at Belgorod, a region of Russia just over the border from the city of Kharkiv. This front in the conflict, he said, "has become more than full-fledged - almost at the level of Donetsk," according to a Google translation of his post.

"Instead of trying to push the enemy away from the border again (after the magnificent 'regrouping' carried out in September), our troops continue to conduct absolutely senseless offensive actions in all respects and accompanied by heavy losses in the direction of Bakhmut and west of Donetsk, to which the enemy, concentrating the main striking forces on other fronts, does not pay much attention," Girkin wrote.

The "regrouping" Girkin referred to was a successful counteroffensive launched in the Kharkiv region by Ukrainian forces in early September, which liberated several key areas that had previously been under Russian occupation. It marked one of the biggest successes yet for the defenders of Ukraine, and a significant blow to the Russian invasion effort.

Girkin made severely pessimistic predictions about the invasion following the setback in Kharkiv, predicting that Russian forces would ultimately fail in Ukraine.

"The war in Ukraine will continue until the complete defeat of Russia," Girkin posted to Telegram in the wake of the counteroffensive. "We have already lost, the rest is just a matter of time."

In the month since then, Russian forces have continued to face setbacks. In late September, Ukrainian forces drove Russian occupying forces out of the city of Lyman, which is located in the contested Donetsk region. On Saturday morning, an explosion rocked the strategically vital Kerch Strait Bridge, which connects Crimea to the Russian mainland, eventually causing parts of it to collapse. While Ukraine has not formally taken credit for the incident, Russian President Vladimir Putin called it "an act of terrorism."

Newsweek reached out to Russian officials for comment.