Russian army fails to fight bravely for the president's dreams - Daniel Fried

He said this on the air of the Espreso TV channel.

"The United States should continue to provide Ukraine with weapons, increasing their quantity and quality. Ukraine has proved that it can fight and use these weapons. America made a great decision to send Patriot systems to Ukraine. There should be more of these systems, and Ukraine is right to insist on this. However, the Americans have already done a lot," said Fried.

The expert also added that this is a war in which there are still many uncertainties and we do not know whether the next Ukrainian attacks will be successful.

"We suspect that if the Russian forces try to attack, they will be defeated. We also know how stressed the Ukrainian economy is now because of the Russian attacks. But there is also some evidence that Russia is just as stressed. Ukraine is fighting for its future. Russia, on the other hand, is fighting for Putin's imperial vanity, and they do not succeed in fighting for the president's wishes so bravely. A lot is in the balance and it is unknown how it will turn out," Fried said.

• On December 22, during a meeting with propagandists, Putin said that Russia seeks a speedy end to the war in Ukraine, for the first time using this definition in relation to the "special operation."

• The same day, an opposition MP from St. Petersburg sued Putin for calling the "special operation" a war.

• On Thursday, December 22, Putin said that there is a "war" in Ukraine, although thousands of people in Russia have received criminal charges for this word. The US State Department urged him to withdraw troops from Ukraine as the next step.