Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine hasn't gone as planned, and as he has a history of employing "desperation tactics" in other areas in which he's experienced military failures, that could spell even more danger moving forward, retired Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt said Monday on Newsmax.
"He was all pent up on a blitzkrieg-type operation to go right on through into Ukraine, and that has not worked out for him," Holt told Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "What we've seen is where he usually goes when he has military failures and that is desperation tactics. Unfortunately, those cross the line with abject criminality."
In past conflicts, "we've seen thermobaric weapons used," said Holt. "We've seen nuclear power plants become parts of battlefields using cluster bombs."
Already, civilian populations in Ukraine are "being absolutely terrorized," including with the bombing of a maternity hospital, the missile strike of an apartment complex in Kyiv, and the "200,000 people trapped in Mariupol without food and water," said Holt.
The Kyiv apartment building strike, he continued, shows Russia is "starting to probe the civilian population with a missile here, a missile there to see if they can induce fear," but the Ukrainians are "dug in" on their stand against Putin.
Holt also said it's possible that Russia is trying to draw NATO into the war, but also with the military strike of a target about 10 miles from Ukraine's border with Poland, he thinks Putin may be "trying to go right up to the line and not surpass it."
Putin has "ripped right past" red lines in terms of the Geneva convention, said Holt, but if he decides to use chemical weapons, the United States and NATO must be ready for a response.
"If we're going to say things like, If it becomes chemical, then it's a whole new day, then we just better be very prepared to back that up and very prepared with a plan that we implement rapidly," said Holt.
The retired general, though, said he does believe if Ukraine can hold out against Russia, then it could be the end of Putin's regime.
"That's why our resolve to help Ukraine could never be more important than it is right now," he said. "Vladimir Putin gets weaker every single day that this goes on, and his inner circle starts to doubt him … the inner circle is doubting him, and if Ukraine can hang on it may be the best for the world to stop this right here, right now."
Holt also called it an "interesting development" that Russia has asked China for help, speaking before U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan was to meet on Monday in Rome with China's top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, to stress the economic penalties that could be imposed if that happens.
Holt said that he believes there is some "theater" going on because Putin wouldn't want to "lose face" by having an open request rejected by Beijing, and China " wouldn't allow this to be in the open press if they were going to be embarrassed with the answer that they would have to give."
However, Holt said that if China assists Russia, it will likely mean agreements that allow China access to Ukraine's agriculture and other resources, even though it signed a defense treaty with Ukraine back in 2013.
There is, however, "some value" for Sullivan's meeting with his Chinese counterpart, if only for "trying to take their temperature" during the discussions, said Holt.
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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