(NewsNation Now) — A week into the offensive, a retired U.S. lieutenant general analyzing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine says, “They’re going to raise the game of terror.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s goals are not entirely clear, but it is evident that Russian armed forces have captured and are targeting several major cities within Ukraine.
U.S. President Joe Biden warned during the State of the Union that if the Russian leader didn’t “pay a price” for the invasion, the aggression wouldn’t stop with one country.
“Right now, they’re striving to take control of the cities, especially in Kharkiv, to the east, which is largely a Russian-speaking city.” retired Lt. Gen. Richard Newton said during an appearance on “Morning in America”.
Kharkiv has a population of 1.4 million people, about the size of San Diego.
As another attack came Wednesday on Kharkiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has decried Russia’s attacks on civilian targets as a blatant terror campaign.
“It also indicates to me, and I believe, to our national security leaders that Putin and the Russian military are really bogged down,” Newton said. “They’re still off their timeline. And so now they’re going to raise the game of terror, if you will, in terms of now an indiscriminate bombing of civilians.”
Fuel and supply logistics problems have been reported stalling a massive 40-mile convoy of hundreds of Russian tanks and other vehicles slowly pushing toward the capital of Kyiv.
“His generals have, to this point, failed him,” Newton said. “Because of the position of the armed forces on the ground, and having to do this extraordinary lifeline of resupply with that convoy.”
According to Newton, because of the slow progress over land, “They’ve gone after neighborhoods, have gone after other civilian targets, with indiscriminate use of airpower now.”
“It’s all still a slugfest for Putin,” he said. “And so he has other options on the table, which are more and more terrorizing to the civilian population.”
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has quickly led to Russia’s isolation on the world stage.
Newton’s sources say Putin himself is becoming more and more isolated.
“The lead effort right now within the intelligence community is trying to understand what is that gap of the Putin yesterday, and the Putin today, particularly as he becomes more isolated,” Newton said.
Condoleezza Rice, who has dealt with Putin for a number of years, said Putin is showing signs of erratic behavior that she had never encountered with him before.
He’s also “becoming more and more indiscriminate with use of his of his military power,” Newton said.
The overall death toll stemming from the invasion is unclear, with neither Russia nor Ukraine releasing the number of troops lost. Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said more than 2,000 civilians have died, though it was impossible to verify that claim.
Recent text messages from the UN ambassador for Ukraine revealed Russian soldiers may have been misled in their march into Ukraine and no one can say with certainty just how many Russian troops have died.
“It’s all part of a psychological campaign,” Newton said. “Not only against Ukrainian people but now inside his military as well.”
Newton calls this one of the first social media wars where releases of information that can be transmitted in seconds, even from a soldier in a convoy to back home to his family, are now huge news.
“This is day seven,” he said. “It’s going to get worse before it gets better.
Watch the full interview with retired Lt. Gen. Richard Newton in the video player at the top of the page.
The Associated Press also contributed to this report.
