Igor Girkin, the terrorist warlord who started the war in Ukraine back in 2014 with his “Little Green Men”, has released a statement on his official Telegram page stating that Russia is unable to cause a decisive defeat on Ukraine. Previously, he released a statement saying that the war between Russia and Ukraine will not end.
Girkin was imprisoned in 2023 in Russia with a four-year sentence for “inciting extremism”. He is also responsible for the downing of the Malaysian Airlines MH17 flight in Ukraine in 2014. He is also considered one of the last remaining competent Russian military leaders still alive.
In his statement, he said that Ukraine and Europe are refusing to concede to any territorial concessions because they know that Russia can not achieve a strategic victory. He says that Russia is currently capable of achieving only tactical victories in Ukraine such as capturing the city of Pokrovsk which will have no strategic or decisive affect. Girkin also added that the biggest risk to the Russian Army is a breakdown in moral.
Girkin said that Russia can turn things around if it transitions from a semi-wartime regime to an official war-time regime.
Igor Girkin’s statement is being published below.
IGOR STRELKOV: FOR THE ENEMY, THE ONLY REAL THREAT IS «THE MORAL BREAKDOWN» OF THEIR OWN ACTIVE ARMY
Dear Alexander Nikolaevich! (to the letter dated November 17, 2025). Thank you for the letter and detailed explanation of your conclusions regarding the emergence and functioning of the so-called. «Russian Community». Well, the arguments are «quite working» and can be taken as the basis for the «working version», from which one should proceed when assessing the origins and activities of this organization.
As for «the set of news» (many of them seemed very important and interesting to me) — I am not ready to comment on them now «individually» due to inconvenience/lack of time. So «I’ll concentrate» at the most important event: «Trump’s 28-point ultimatum» (about the full content of which our media modestly remained silent). Naturally, it will be extremely interesting for me to read the contents of all these «points», but the main thing has already happened: as I expected, the EU, etc. «ukraine» «from the door» decisively abandoned «the settlement», which provided for any territorial (and other concessions too). Simply because they are doing well, and they have absolutely nothing to fear from the collapse of the front and military defeat in the coming months —not to consider the fall of Kupyansk (one of the «average» regional centers of the Kharkov region) after a SIX-MONTH ASSAULT — «a strategic defeat»? In Kyiv and the capitals of the EU they understand perfectly well that neither Kupyansk, nor Pokrovsk, nor even Orekhov, Gulyai-Pole, etc. cities and towns will bring real victory to the Russian Armed Forces if they are not defeated by the Ukrainian Armed Forces when they are taken. And they are NOT DESTROYED.And they cannot be defeated in a situation where the Russian Armed Forces have the strength only for tactical operations, but the strength to conduct strategic operations is either completely absent or insufficient to carry them out successfully. (In the end, our army now does not even have the strength to effectively occupy at least left-bank Ukraine if, suddenly, the Ukrainian Armed Forces retreated beyond the Dnieper along its entire length!).
Therefore, for the enemy, the only real threat is «the moral breakdown» of their own active army, —in which the mass of soldiers and commanders (the predominant part) will decide for themselves that «victory — is impossible, defeat — is inevitable, and there is no point in sacrificing for the sake of «all this» there is no more life—. So far —apparently — this has not happened (and reports from the front confirm this).
Yes, apparently, some units and formations of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have become less stable in battle, the number of «ideologically motivated» soldiers has fallen in percentage terms, and the number of prisoners and those ready to surrender has increased. But! — In general, the enemy continues to fight very stubbornly and in the most dangerous directions for himself (in Kharkov and Zaporozhye) — fights for every hill, for every house, for every forest plantation, —as a result of which our tactical successes there are scanty or none at all. This means — for some time to the Kyiv scum and their masters in Europe (and in the USA!) there is nothing special to worry about — you can continue preparing for intervention in a relatively calm manner, preparing for war seriously and carefully.
And what do we have? Our military successes (though very limited) have “coincided” with the “Trump points” and have once again created the illusion of a “quick deal” (even though nothing of the sort is in the air — not now, and not in the medium-term perspective at all).
I can note that the “expectation of an imminent peace” has penetrated even here, “into the ranks of the convicted” (although almost everyone who is still capable of thinking views it with skepticism). In this sense, the “next disappointment” lowers the already weak motivation of society to “endure the hardships and privations of the Special Military Operation.”
And these “defeatist sentiments” will only grow, and the remnants of trust in the authorities (already very insignificant) will quickly “evaporate.” This will, of course, be “encouraged” not only by the growing economic and corresponding social problems, but also by the increasing strikes (UAV and missile) from our former “respected partners,” which our media stubbornly (and foolishly!) hide in more than 90% of cases, providing fertile ground for the further growth of distrust toward the authorities and for the “rejection” by masses of people of any official state propaganda. And this — in conditions of what is essentially a civil war — is the most dangerous of all!
Already now the authorities are viewed “very skeptically” (even by ordinary people unversed in politics), and tomorrow (as has already happened in the most tragic moments of our history) this “skepticism” will turn into “rejection,” which our enemies (not Putin’s enemies! — the enemies of Russia and the Russian people!) will certainly try to exploit.
There is still time to change the situation. But for things to change (in a positive direction), “super-efforts” are now required — efforts that do not fit within the “stagnant framework” of this “semi-wartime” and that are absolutely impossible without radical personnel changes in the leadership of the Special Military Operation, industry, the ideological sphere, and (very importantly!) foreign-policy initiatives.
If nothing changes, we face a catastrophe — one so great that our state (in its previous “historical” form) may not survive it.
With respect and constant gratitude,
I. V. Girkin
23 November 2025
(Letter to comrade Alexander Getmanov)
Newsroom
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