In a country where independent media and commentary has all but disappeared from public view, it's rare to hear dissent on state-controlled TV networks.
One well-known military analyst and veteran stood out this week after he appeared on state TV and gave a damning assessment of the Ukraine invasion.
The situation will get worse for us, according to a retired Russian army colonel.
The host was warned not to swallow informational tranquilizers by the man, who said that Ukraine was not in danger of being beaten by Russia and that it could mobilize and arm a million men.
The defense columnist for the gazeta.ru newspaper and graduate of one of Russia's elite military academies warned Russia against invading its neighbor Ukraine.
Russia is almost three months into a bloody conflict in Ukraine with only a few significant territorial gains in the east and south, and with the invasion likely to turn into a long-term war of attrition with the fighters showing a bravery and resilience.
Moscow has scaled back its invasion strategy of Ukraine from the north, east and south, and has now focused on the eastern part of the country.
What mattered was that the hearts of the Ukrainians would be in the fight, and that would not bode well for Russia.
The desire to defend one's motherland in the sense that it exists in Ukraine is something that they intend to fight to the last, according to the man.
Neither of them could be reached for comment.
Russia has been ostracized on the global stage and even its allies in China and India are worried about how long the conflict could last.
The main deficiency of our military-political position is that we are in full solitude and we don't want to admit it.
The West is more united than ever. NATO tightened its security measures after the Russian invasion because of the continued supply of arms to Ukraine. Russia's invasion has strengthened the alliance with Sweden and Finland, who are now looking to join.
Russia predicated its onslaught of Ukraine largely on an opposition to it joining NATO and INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals
Its response to NATO's expansion to include Sweden and Finland has been quiet. Although it initially threatened to retaliate against the expansion, it now says that it doesn't make a big difference. There is little Russia can do about the NATO expansion, even though Russia has threatened to act if NATO military infrastructure is placed in Sweden.
The main thing in our business is have a sense of military-political realism: if you go beyond that then the reality of history will hit you so hard that you will not know.
He said that it just looks rather funny to wave rockets in the direction of Finland.
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