Russia Reality: Putin is ‘CREATING AN ILLUSION’

Well, let's bring in Dan Hoffman a former CIA station chief in Moscow and a Fox News contributor and Dan It's a great pleasure to see you today You know, we just heard Witkoff and Kushner saying that they feel good There might be a path forward and yet everything that we've seen from Putin Everything that we've heard Peskov say that the Russia is standing by their old objectives. They want these four parcels of land back They don't want NATO expansion Doesn't suggest that Russia is in any state thinking of moving as well. So what's the reality? Is there any movement from the Russian perspective? Yeah, I think certainly the Trump administration's efforts to end Russia's barbaric war on Ukraine are laudable however as you correctly point out if past is prologue then Vladimir Putin is is absolutely happy to host our Envoys in Moscow, but he's doing that to create the illusion that Russia is interested in peace He's doing that I think for three reasons first To try to deter the United States from providing Ukraine with any assistance including Patriot air defense As if that might be the tipping point where Russia might not want to agree to any peace deal because we're supporting Ukraine Secondly, I think he wants to try to divide the United States from Europe and and of course from Ukraine By creating the impression that the United States and Russia of like mind on this war and third Putin is probably playing to his domestic audience a little bit He's got upcoming very rigged elections for the Duma on September 18 to 20 and he might want to make it appear to his citizens who are Increasingly paying a steep price for Russia's war on Ukraine that he's trying to find a way to get to peace You say he's playing for his domestic audience, but do you think that Putin understands exactly what's happening on the front lines? You know, we know that the CIA director Ratcliffe went over last week perhaps to convey that message that Russia wasn't doing so well They were being forced back inside Russia the attacks on all refineries. Do you think Putin is surrounded by? Yes men Do you think he believes there is a path to victory here? Or is he just happy to continue in this war in which neither side seems to be winning? Well, I definitely think he's surrounded by Yes men because if he wasn't then they wouldn't be in his inner circle any longer, but I do believe Putin knows How much this war has cost Russia? He was supposed to have taken Kiev in three days and Instead has spilled massive blood and treasure including over a million casualties He knows the price that Russia has paid, but I don't think he cares. He's got an infinite Threshold for the pain he's willing to inflict on his own citizens and on innocent Ukrainians whom he continues to target in their homes And their neighborhoods and hospitals and maternity wards. We have to see the world through the eyes of Vladimir Putin That's the responsibility of our intelligence community particularly director Ratcliffe who I'm sure is briefing the president on the reflections the results How Russia looked it at these recent? meetings and discussions and Negotiations that might give us additional insight through our sensitive sources about Putin's plans and intentions It felt that under the Biden administration There was some fear that if the u.s Were really push Russia that they might begin to escalate that if they were backed into a corner They might do something drastic whether it's used a tactical nuclear weapon Or something as big as that and so is that still a fear is there a fear that if America really pushes Russia back? They might do something worse Well, I think that you have to win the war and Ukraine is winning right now. It's an existential fight for them, but they prevented Russia from Conquering their their country, and I never believed that Russia was serious about using a tactical nuclear weapon I think it was over to the to the CIA and the rest of our intelligence community to determine whether Russia might have deliberately planted those sorts of stories to scare the Biden administration Into not giving Ukraine the long-range artillery when they needed it Russia has deployed hybrid Gray zone operations in Europe. They violated Europe's airspace. There was a an explosive drone found at Leipzig Airport Those things Europe has to be concerned about but again The strategy for Putin is to try to deter Europe from supporting Ukraine Europe is now the one shouldering the burden But I don't think that we run as much of that risk But it's certainly something that the CIA would want to be able to brief the president on Definitively and certainly a lot of eyes in Europe and NATO at the moment about the gray zone Activities that Russia is carrying out and at what point does Europe and NATO have to react in a more forceful way to that and Think a lot of countries saying they need to be doing that right now Dan Dan Hoffman. Thank you so much for joining us today. We appreciate it Thank you Be sure to LIKE and subscribe for all the Fox News latest on YouTube and catch full shows streaming now on Fox 1