"Kremlin Fakes Could Be The Reason For Russia's Collapse"

• 2.01.2026, 17:26

The Russian Federation received quite a few "slaps" from the Ukrainian security services.

Last year, Russia received many "slaps" from the Ukrainian security services, which conducted more than one special operation both in Ukraine and on the territory of Russia.

The last of these was the failed attempt to kill the commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) Denis Kapustin.

In the opinion of a military and public figure, major-general of the SBU reserve, deputy chairman of the SBU (2014-2015), director of the Security Sector Reform Agency Viktor Yagun, which he said.), director of the Security Sector Reform Agency Viktor Yagun, which he expressed on the air of FREEDOM, this operation of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (GUR MOU) can hit the Kremlin and its propaganda hard.

- Some call Kapustin a personal enemy of Putin. I can't say how true this is, but it clearly characterizes him as a positive person. He is a vivid example that there are people who are ready not only in words, but also with weapons in their hands to oppose Putin's regime. For the Kremlin, this is much scarier than talking or even rallies. This shows the path that can be taken by a lot of young, radicalized people who simply cannot feel comfortable in their own country," said Major General of the Reserve.

Yagun notes that this doesn't mean that everyone who doesn't like dictator Putin and his regime will join the guerrillas, but the media coverage of such a case may make many people think about their role in resisting the Kremlin's dictate.

- Not everyone can join military units, but through this structure [RDK] we manage to do a lot to attract people to oppose Putin's regime. I'm not talking about creating guerrilla units, but people who are also ready to act against the regime in Russia itself. Therefore, indeed, both this person and this structure play a serious role in the fight against our enemy," he believes.

The actions of groups such as RDK, according to the former SBU deputy chairman, very much interfere with the work of the Russian security services and cause the Kremlin significant image damage.

- Such organizations create a lot of negativity against the Kremlin and very much interfere with the Russian security services. As a result of this failed operation, the Russian security services have received a very tangible blow to their image. I don't think they will comment on it in any way. Most likely, they will try to hide this information by some informational components, to silence it. But in reality it is a serious blow - both image and psychological for the special services and the authorities in Russia, - says Yagun.

In his opinion, this operation was one of those vivid demonstrations of the failure of Russian attempts to misinform the world about the real state of affairs both on the front and in the Russian Federation itself.

- Recently we have seen a lot of fake victories of the aggressor country on the front and other similar throws. The same reports about the capture of Kupyansk, the situation with the attempted assassination of Kapustin, this situation with the alleged raid of Ukrainian UAVs on Putin's residence in Valdai. The latter is simply a unique situation where most of the civilized world understands the real situation, while Russian propaganda is bending its line. Yes, there are countries that have fallen for this propaganda, and now they are a little uncomfortable, especially after the statement of our Foreign Ministry, - states Victor Yagun.

All these lies, in his opinion, show the weakness of the Kremlin and its inability to achieve real victories. Society reacts to the lies accordingly and tries to find alternative sources of information to the state propaganda.

- This shows many interesting things. It is a weakness, a very serious weakness, when in order to show some victories and some things to be guided by and proud of, the Kremlin has to come up with some fakes. This is a very serious indicator. As for the people in Russia, experts say that the situation now in the Russian information space is similar to the one that existed under Brezhnev. People realize that they are simply being lied to and are trying to find alternative information. And when they compare alternative information with what they see on TV, they don't get indignant, they just laugh. And this is much scarier for the Kremlin, because when the government in Russia turns into a laughingstock, it indicates its gradual loss of legitimacy in society. No one takes it seriously. And this is a very serious wake-up call for the Kremlin," says Yagun.

Even dictator Putin himself tried in his speech to embellish the rather sad picture that has emerged in Russia. However, as the former deputy chairman of the Security Service of Ukraine notes, now neither the Kremlin dictator nor his servants are able to deceive reality anymore.

- The main idea that Putin tried to convey in his speech was that everything is normal, everything is under control, everything is according to plan. At the same time, no one understands what the plan actually was. And if the plan was to take Kiev in three days, why didn't it take place and what is going on? If the war continues, then both in the Kremlin and in Russia as a whole there may be such an ideological bias," he says.

And here, according to Yagun, the entire ideological base of Moscow, which is largely based on the fact that "grandfathers fought" and victory in World War II, may fall apart.

- The Kremlin builds the bulk of its ideological narratives on World War II. More precisely on what they call the Great Patriotic War, which lasted from June 22, 1941 to May 9, 1945, exactly 1,418 days and nights. They can't even call the current war a war, it is a "SWO", a "special military operation". And this "SWO" will last as long as their Great Patriotic War on January 10. And the longer their aggression towards Ukraine lasts, the more ideological problems they will have. The Kremlin will have to come up with something and tell them something. In his opinion, Putin has no choice but to continue waging war by any means to keep his power.

- Putin has only one option left: to continue the war and to strengthen his total dictatorship in Russia. To continue to build up its military capabilities, to somehow hold the economy together, including through support from China. Now the bulk of the civilian component of the economy has been virtually subjugated by China. Everything that used to be produced in Russia is now mostly imported from China," Yagun says.

As early as March, he believes, the situation in Russia may significantly worsen. Now Putin is doing everything to delay real progress on peace talks as much as possible.

- The dictator is constantly trying to convince everyone that they are ready for some kind of peace talks. The Kremlin is constantly avoiding direct answers to questions about peace and is trying to delay the moment when it will be necessary to meet, even in groups, directly with the Ukrainian delegation. This tactic is very simple: delaying all political processes in order to achieve something on the front. I think you have to believe our intelligence, analysts who say that all these tactics can very seriously undermine the foundations of Russia until March. So until the beginning of March is the period when Russia has to make some decision. Further continuation of such intensive military actions on the part of the Russian Federation until March may end in disaster for them," Yagun summarized.