‘Putin under pressure’ over Western weapon strikes in Russia | Maj. Gen. Tim Cross

I think what will put pressure on Putin is the fact that people as I say people people like our own foreign secretary David Cameron others uh in NATO and and indeed the Americans are now beginning to say to Ukraine you can use these weapon systems to strike deep into Russia and therefore weapon systems like the attacks like you know air power drones and so on and so forth giving them the ability to strike deep inside Russia not just into Crimea but deep into Russia and why wouldn’t we have allowed them to do that at the end of the day you know Ukraine has been hit hard their infrastructure in particular their energy infrastructure uh you know and and so on so I think if giving them the ability to do that and allowing them to do that is a very important message and if they can begin to cause serious trouble deep inside Russia then I think Putin maybe you know put in a position where he’s having to scratch his head and think you know we’re not making progress on the ground they have they have the ability to hit hit deeply and um you know we’ve got to somehow bring this thing to an end what do you think it means for the future of General gasimov there’s been some speculation that the new defense minister may come in and want to see a change in in the military command structure as well do you think that’s feasible yes it is I I I think you know anybody that’s put into a new appointment like this um will look around and decide who are the people that he can or cannot work with I mean we shouldn’t forget we you know the we UK went through an extraordinary number of generals in World War II I mean hundreds of generals came and went pretty quickly in some places and a lot of the time it does come back to individual chemistry and confidence and trust and these things take time to build now I don’t know who else he’s got in mind if he has got anybody else in mind but I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t make some changes uh bringing bringing fresh thinking in and bringing in people that he personally uh you know as I say knows has trust in and thinks will be able to deliver whatever it is that he now you know wants to crack on with so changes potentially absolutely um will they be significant and make you know will he make wholesale changes I don’t know I mean Russia does have a habit of doing this um and we’ve seen a lot of changes over the last couple of years because clearly this campaign has not gone well so you know we’ll have to wait and see but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some changes when do you think we will see a fresh wave of Russia mobilization a lot of people had expected it in the weeks immediately after Putin’s so-called reelection do you think we will see it now I think that yes is the answer I I think Putin having been reelected you know trying to put yourself into the mind of of these sort of guys is not easy clearly but you you can imagine that he will now having been reelected make these changes he wants to see significant success this year and and we know that he can only only be able to bring that about by by ramping up production getting all the war production levels and so forth but also he has got to mobilize some more people particularly if he’s still has the intent of trying to secure the whole of Ukraine if his if if his in his own mind what he’s thinking is let’s grab a little bit more territory you know do this buffer zone that we were talking about before or not um and push and not push on you know beyond that and then just sit there and say to zinski you need to negotiate and and come from a position that I’m not going to give up the Eastern provinces I’m not going to give up Crimea you’re not in a position of retaking that territory and therefore let’s negotiate there are rumors that zilinski and Putin might even meet one another fairly soon I mean I picked that up last week and had a conversation actually only yesterday now I I don’t know whether that’s true or not but there are some rumors um so you know one has to try and imagine in Putin’s mind what is he trying to achieve here I’m not convinced that he really believes anymore that he can secure the hold of Ukraine but I’m pretty sure that he will not give up on what he’s got and he may well try and achieve a bit more through some sort of you know opening up this counter offensive or indeed putting more pressure on in the south and east where the pressure hasn’t gone away um and Ukraine is struggling going back to mobilization Ukraine is struggling to mobilize people I mean a lot of young people are not signing up and quite a lot of left um and there are you know there there’s a lot of conversation going on in Ukraine about what to do about this so I don’t think there’s any doubt in my mind that that Putin wants to put increase the pressure ramp up production put these new people in place and then as you say mobilize more people in order to be able to maintain the pressure if not increase it it’s fascinating what you said there about the potential and I appreciate it is only speculation but the potential for Putin and zinsky to meet how would that even work in practice I mean where would they meet for instance somewhere that hopefully you and I would not know nor anybody else in the me media it has to be done you know quietly behind the scenes um and and it has to be done out of the spotlight of the media and and the world’s eyes so you know I where would it be well there there are options I mean clearly some of the Nordic countries have traditionally hosted peace talks um I don’t I don’t know is the honest answer but uh it would have to be there would obviously be preliminary meetings having to go on and and you know conversations being had but that happens in all of these conflicts I mean it’s like Israel Gaza there’s lots of conversations going on and you have you have officials at certain levels that get involved at certain stages before you ramp it up to your foreign ministers and and so on until you then have the heads of state meeting so there’s there’s work to be done I don’t think it be I I don’t think I can’t see it being done in Russia or Ukraine so you know bellarus potentially I suppose uh but maybe somewhere else you know in the region um I can’t see them both of them flying off to be honest you know long distances I suspect it will have to be on the ground in the you know in the neighborhood in inverted Commerce but it I I stress it’s only speculation I I have picked it up I picked it up from a couple of sources so I’m not saying it’s it’s not happening it’s certainly possible it may not be probable at this stage but you know it is potentially the case and if we look at what Ukraine can hope to achieve realistically in the next few months I mean it’s interesting despite the Russian advances in the Northeast Ukraine continue to have some success striking targets within Russian territory and indeed striking bases in Crimea for for instance what do you think realistically is a good next few months for Ukraine I think that actually is you know the key I don’t I don’t I don’t want to be dismissive or or you know be less than positive about Ukraine we all want Ukraine to do well U and you know we can talk about what does Victory look like in inverted Commerce but if they can regain territory on the ground then you know fantastic but they have got to have that ability as we were discussing earlier but I think what will put pressure on Putin is the fact that people as I say people people like our own foreign secretary David Cameron others uh in NATO and and indeed the Americans are now beginning to say to Ukraine you can use these weapon systems to strike deep into Russia and therefore weapon systems like the attacks like you know air power drones and so on and so forth giving them the ability to strike deep inside Russia not just into Crimea but deep into Russia and why wouldn’t we have allowed them to do that at the end of the day you know Ukraine has been hit hard their infrastructure in particular their energy infrastructure uh you know and and so on so I think if giving them the ability to do that and allowing them to do that is a very important message and if they can begin to cause serious trouble deep inside Russia then I think Putin maybe you know put in a position where he’s having to scratch his head and think you know we’re not making progress on the ground they have they have the ability to hit hit deeply and um you know we’ve got to somehow bring this thing to an end so I do potential serious change no it’s really interesting you mentioned that shift of of stance in terms of how Western supplied weapons can be used by the ukrainians but I know that’ be much of our Frontline audience who will be incredibly frustrated that throughout this conflict it feels like the West have maybe been one step behind what Ukraine needs at that time whether it was providing anti-tank missiles at the beginning saying no that’s not going to happen and then we provide them whether it’s saying yes okay now you can use Western supplied missiles to strike into Russia territory even to go back to our earlier conversation you know whether we should use seized Russian assets to fund the war effort in Ukraine why do you think it is the west and maybe it’s a perception maybe it is the reality seems to be one step behind I I think it is a reality actually I don’t think it is just a perception um what’s gone on in the minds of our Prime Ministers foreign secretaries and so on I I think particularly places like Germany people genuinely were very concerned about this you know this this campaign War spreading beyond the boundaries of Ukraine and people took Putin’s messages pretty seriously and and so they should um so when he started talking about you know if you give them this stuff I’m going to do X and you know talking about tactical nuclear weapons and all this all this business people you know having to face some tough choices and initially saying to themselves I think you know let’s give Ukraine the ability to to defend themselves but we need to be very cautious about allowing them to you know take a much you know give them much more ability to strike deep into Russia because of the potential of what that may lead to um you know we’ve got supplies coming in through places like Po Poland we’ve got NATO forces deployed elsewhere and I can understand that I mean I i’ only be clever about it leadership is tough and and making some of these choices is not easy but I do happen to believe that we have been very slow in allowing Ukraine to do what has been necessary again I don’t you know har back to history too much but you know look at World War II when we were you know holding out in those early years 1940 Etc and we took a long time for the Americans to send us what was in course in those days you know we had to lease it and pay it all back hopefully Ukraine won’t have to pay it all back but we had to and and it took us till only a few years ago to repay all this stuff from World War II but it does does take time and I think the Americans you know at one point were probably thinking well we’ll we’ll help Britain hold out but the ability to you know do we really want them to do other things I don’t want to you know mix mix that World War II too much but I do think at the end of the day we have been one step behind and um you know this is from a Ukrainian point of view this is a war of national survival um and um I I think we need to give them the ability to really try to strike deep and conduct offensive operations whether they will succeed or not is another issue I can’t see Russia being defeated that’s at the end of the day I come back to the the real or I think the reality that I just can’t see Russia being defeated um and therefore Ukraine we have to give Ukraine as much ability as possible to to strike deep and to cause Putin to pause himself and to think about okay how do we bring this to an end and it’s in our interest to make sure that happens I don’t happen to believe that you that Putin is about to you know have another crack at the Baltic states or wherever I think um you know he his I just can’t see him making decision to take on nato in that sense but I do think think that if he does pre reasonably well in this campaign The gry Zone undoubtedly will open up he’s doing it already to some degree the cyers space uh you know attacks the and so on I think the pressure supporting people like Serbia over issues like Kosovo I think he will continue to to create trouble um and therefore the more we can do to ensure that he doesn’t come out of this too well the better but we have been behind the power curve in my view I mean I I I I stress I I don’t like criticizing senior leadership you know publicly because it’s tough business but overall looking back and looking at where we are today I think it’s I think we have been behind the power thank you for watching Frontline for times radio for more click subscribe on our YouTube channel you can listen to times radio and you can read more about the war in Ukraine and Global Security with your times digital subscription

“We have to give Ukraine as much ability as possible to strike deep and to cause Putin to pause himself and to think, okay, how do we bring this to an end?”

Ukraine’s green light to use British weapons on Russian soil will put pressure on Putin to end the war if it is followed by similar pledges from Western allies, Maj. Gen. Tim Cross tells #timesradio on Frontline

📻 Listen to Times Radio – https://www.thetimes.co.uk/radio

📍 Subscribe to our channel – http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTjDhFuGXlhx9Us0gq0VK2w?sub_confirmation=1

🗞 Subscribe to The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/subscribe/radio-3for3/

📲 Get the free Times Radio app https://www.thetimes.co.uk/radio/how-to-listen-to-times-radio/app

35 comments

  1. Fear based order: Your opponent can strike any part of your land, but you can't strike any part of your opponent's land. Rule based order: Your opponent strikes any part of your land then you can strike any part of their land.

  2. It would have useful to hear his opinion on the follow up to the statement that the western powers have said they are giving Ukraine permission to hit targets deep inside of Russia giving the impression that Russia is Libya or Syria and would just accept that the west can make decisions to attack their territory without taking effective action to strike the countries that are providing these weapons. It is now open secret that Russia will strike military target in any country that it determines have given weapons for such events .

  3. The west doesn't want Ukraine to win so much as it wants Russia NOT to win. Consequently, Ukraine has been used cynically by the West as a sort of brakepad. And brakepads are disposable.

  5. Even if Russia invades all of Ukraine it would end up being another Afghanistan, and partisan attacks everywhere until Russia pulled out…There is no Russian victory to be had out of this.

  6. This person being interviewed is reciting RU talking points. "RU can not be defeated!" What a line of BS!?! Pay attention to events… Yes RU has opened another front and Ukraine is struggling BUT so did the allies in WW2 and eventually the Germans lost. The "great" RU military machine is suffering massive defeats every day. They can not sustain the enormous losses that are occurring. Their stocks will eventually be depleted. And this man stated that Ukraine has to sit down with Pootin? Doesn't Ukraine have a law that states that as long as "Peter the Great Wanna-be" is in charge of RU, Ukraine can not legally discuss anything? And does anyone really believe that Ukraine will not force RU completely out of their country? The "west" has/is providing weapons, now let them us them wherever they see fit to get the job done! Enough of this "selected targeting" using western weapons. War is war and the side that isn't afraid to destroy the enemy wins. Glory to Ukraine! and Condemnation to Russia!!!

  7. People celebrating Russias recent small advances need to think about this: Russia has thrown EVERYTHING at this war, including sacrificing its trade relationships, its oil production, more that 100k lives and its global reputation. This is Russia at its very best folks. Ukraine, by contrast, is only doing as much as it is ALLOWED to do. That’s about to change Putin, you’ve had your fun.

  8. There is absolutely no way Zelenskyy meets putin. The thing one should have in mind about countries with a war economy is that they can exist in a state of a perpetual bankruptcy as long as the war continues because they don't manufacture anything of value and they keep the illusion of a working economy for the slaves who are doing absolutely nothing but in huge quantity. Once the war stops the country collapses. In that respect putin will not back down. Let's all face it, he will be defeated most likely by NATO forces taking control over moscow.

  9. Problem is Russia has endless men to keep throwing into battle until they achieve results. They don't care about losses as they are a cold, heartless nation.
    It's attritional and the artillery/manpower Russia has slowly grinds you down. The West should be in there putting a stop to it. Where are the UN peacekeepers????

  10. Stop pretending russia is a "normal nation"- they are NOT !! Ukraine must win. All the 'woffle' from so-called experts saying Zelenskyi should 'talk' to putin is BS. Why should he?- russia just needs to GO HOME.

  12. Well lets see if Putin meant what he said last week. That if UK Weapons are used to strike Russia he will respond by hitting UK Targets.

  14. Russia launches long range missiles at UKR from deep inside the RF. The defence against such attacks on ostensibly the UKR civilians and infrastructure is to take out the launch sites of these long range weapons …..that is defence of their own country and sovereignty. But some key Western leaders falsely declare long range weapons will make RF escalate the war???? It was escalated to war in February 2022 and invasion of soveriegn State that themselves signed up to. Putin will never meet anyone outside th Kremlin only one of his 8 proxies! The West should have taken on an active support of the UKR civilian infrastructure in UKR by constructing the defences around key cities while UKR takes on the RF at the frontline. Putler has always won the minds game in this war against softies Biden (more so GOP), Sholz.

  20. You never get anywhere giving in to a bully. First time we asked Putin, "Are you going to invade Ukraine and he said no. We should have said good because if you do, we are fighting alongside Ukraine if asked. It's just common sense on the street stuff. Obviously, it's not something that MPs and most world leaders are good at. They don't know how to deal with Putin because he is just a criminal acting as a leader.

  22. Handing over Ukrainian territory to Russia is out of the question. Under NO circumstances!! That would be the biggest security mistake Europe could ever make. It will only legitimize the Russian aggression and create a precedence for future wars in Europe. Georgia will be next.
    So the only thing to do for the EU and the US is to go all in.

  24. There’s no deal that can be negotiated with Russia that can be trusted. They have betrayed all agreements, have continually attacked the west and various countries around them. They are a highly aggressive fascist state which is intent on expansion. What needs to happen is that NATO needs to move into Ukraine, with a substantial presence well into the future. What’s more, sanctions should remain in place until all aggression from the Russian state stops. That includes their cyberattacks, their attacks on elections, and any money they are trying to funnel to corrupt people in other countries.

  25. The only outcome of this invasion which would be acceptable to Ukraine is for Putin to withdraw all his forces in Ukraine, and that includes Crimea. That must be the starting point. Anything less rewards Putin and that is an absolute no-no in the light of the multiple crimes committed by Putin against Ukrainians and, indeed, many of his own people.

  27. Clueless on new Russian MOD who’s actually an old SOVIET ECONOMIST! He will bring back iron curtain take oligarch’s money and raid Russia! READ HIS ACADEMIC WORKS! He admires Xi Jinping and his purges of capitalism and focus on centralized economy. HE IS DISASTER!

  30. What a tankie. US just committed $60b to Ukraine armaments, only to have them turn around and let Russia hold part of their country? Right before they get fully trained F16 pilots and planes? Come on. If he isn't actually, this dude certainly sounds like a Kremlin plant or useful idiot.

  32. See, this is happening because, the other countries waited too much to react, they could have stopped it from the beginning. How? Declaring a no fly zone in Ukraine, allowing Ukrine to strike, deep into Russia, Putin a limit, in Russian attack, but they did not do it, now, NATO countries could have done it, they have the control, but it looks like A dictator has more power now over them, if sad to say this but , that is how it, looks. Is it possible that Russia can do whatever they want now, "wow" specially now in front of the NATO countries not even when it was the Soviet Union that was more powerful could do it, and Now NATO countries that have more power cannot do anything. "Wow"

  33. Pommy, ukr lost. 600 000 dead ukraine soldiers. Are you blind. British high ranking officers like this pathetic guest explains brittish, pathetic, woke army. Ukr is gone, america lost. Putin has enough man power, logistics impeccable. Fighting a 1000 km line, advancing at an incredible rate. 2 days ago ago ukr suffered 1600 losses. What kak you talking.

  34. we should be glad Putin still feels he is making forward progress as if he did not believe this, we would likely see the use of battlefield (tactical) nuclear weapons as the ultimate blackmail tool against the west. no one would want to see that escalate.

Leave a Reply