Well well, look who's making comments on Sky News.. What are the odds that Boris, as Foreign Secretary at the time, WAS involved in the creation of the Steele Dossier.? Hence his constant hardline stance against Russia.
Ex-MI6 spy Christopher Steele says Putin has made 'gross miscalculations' which will 'lead to his downfall' - but warns desperate Russian troops could resort to 'indiscriminate killing' and using chemical weapons
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10599837/Ex-MI6-spy-says-Putin-gross-miscalculations-lead-downfall.html
Vladimir Putin has 'overreached' in his invasion of Ukraine and the 'despicable operation will lead to his downfall', the former head of MI6's Russian division said today.
Christopher Steele, who was a member of the British secret service for over two decades and led MI6 operations in Russia from 2006-2009, said Putin will never be accepted back into the international community and his regime will ultimately collapse as a result.
'I don't see him surviving this in the long term. I think we've gone over a watershed here,' Steele declared in an interview with Sky News Thursday evening.
'An operation on this scale is really beyond Russia… I think there are several gross miscalculations here by Putin.'
It comes as a Russian assault on Kyiv was repelled earlier today by Ukrainian forces who successfully pushed back the invaders' advances towards the capital from the west and east, inflicting heavy losses with an artillery ambush of Russian armour outside Brovary, east of the capital, and killing a high-ranking commander in the process.
But Steele warned that the slow progress of Russian troops thus far could result in Putin ordering more violence and 'indiscriminate killings' in the short-term.
Steele went on to explain that Putin's dictatorial leadership style may contribute to his eventual downfall, reasoning that as regular Russian citizens and oligarchs alike see sanctions bite, the likelihood of his deposition increases.
'One of the problems is, when you run an authoritarian regime like he does and you don't welcome criticism or debates within the leadership, then you end up with bad advice and hearing the things you want to hear from your advisors.
'As people's living standards start to fall, they will be increased protests on the streets of Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities. And I think that will play in to probably an elite attempt to remove Putin in due course.'
The progress of the Russian invasion force has been slow to say the least, with attempts to overwhelm Ukrainian defences on the outskirts of the capital in both Irpin to the west and Brovary to the east resoundingly defeated last night and earlier today.
Ukraine's military also reported today that a Russian onslaught in Mykolayiv was thwarted, as Putin's men tried to push towards Kryvyi Rih - to the northeast and birthplace of the President - and Voznesensk - to the northwest.
But Steele argued the poor progress may encourage Putin to step up the already brutal bombardment of several Ukrainian cities in an attempt to force the top brass into submission.
'As the Russian army becomes bogged down, more desperate, and clearly not realising its objectives militarily, you're likely to see more indiscriminate killing and bombardment and possibly the use of a [chemical] weapon,' Steele said.
The warning comes after the besieged city of Mariupol in the south of Ukraine saw its maternity hospital targeted in an airstrike yesterday, after the metropolis had already endured 10 days of bombardment with its citizens largely cut off from water, power and humanitarian aid.
At least three people were killed and 17 wounded in the strike, while elsewhere mortuary workers were seen carting dozens of dead bodies - mostly civilians - to the outskirts of the decimated port city and then dumping them in mass graves.
A convoy tried today to bring supplies, but there was no word on whether it had managed to get through by early afternoon. Four previous attempts to bring relief to the city have failed, after Ukraine said Russia shelled the route it was intending to use.
Indiscriminate Russian airstrikes have also targeted cities Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Zhytomyr, among others, resulting in further civilian deaths.