Putin's ally calls for full-scale war, says Russia needs larger army to push back NATO

Russian forces are retreating from Kherson and Ukrainian flags are being unflured in the city. Kherson is the only regional capital that Russian forces had managed to capture since the beginning of the Russia Ukraine war. Billboards were put up in the city of Kherson, stating "Russia is here forever", but now, Russians have decided that they do not have the capability to defend the city of Kherson and need to retreat east of the Dnieper river, to take advantage of natural defence barriers. Vladimir Solovyov, a prominent Russian propagandist and an "ally" of Russian president Vladimir Putin, said that Moscow should launch a full scale war in Europe to push back NATO, ignoring the fact that the Russian army is not even capable of defending Kherson. 

According to a report from Newsweek, the Putin "ally" said that Russia needs a larger army "capable of waging full scale war in Europe". He did not mention where this supposed larger army, capable of pushing back NATO, will come from. Disappointed with Russia's performance in the Russia Ukraine war, Vladimir Solovyov said that it was necessary for Moscow to acknowledge the need of a "different army". 

Solovyov advocates for a war with NATO

After Russia began its retreat from Kherson, Vladimir Solovyov reportedly said that Russia should be waging a "full-scale war on European territory." The goal of this war? To push NATO back to the lines of 1998 and 1999. Vladimir Solovyov does not talk about the Article 5 guarantee that all NATO members have, which stipulates that an attack on one is an attack on all. In effect, it means that US troops will get directly involved in the war if any NATO nation is attacked. US President Joe Biden has reasserted US' commitment to article 5 of NATO by saying that US "will defend every inch of NATO territory, every inch". 

Solovyov suggested that severe problems should be overcome by "shooting cowards". Meanwhile, the atmosphere is quite different in Ukraine. "Today is a historic day. We are taking back Kherson," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "As of now, our defenders are on the outskirts of the city. But special units are already in the city," he continued. "The people of Kherson never surrendered," he added.