It was the sheer impudence and bold confidence in the Ambassador's performance that was most surprising.
His words reveal a lot about how Russia believes this war is now moving in its favor.
Andrei Kelin, Ambassador of Vladimir Putin to the United KingdomHe is a professional civil servant.
In an interview with Yalda Hakim on Sky News– He chose his words and tone carefully.
He was able to appear reassured that the Ukrainians were not winning this war, and at times he was able to rub salt in their wounds.
He claimed that Ukraine's front line is moving steadily westward and that the country is struggling to finance and resource its war effort.
Russia, on the other hand, has been spared the worst of Western sanctions, and its military-industrial complex is more than up to the challenge of providing support for its war effort.
This is broadly true, however exaggerated, and it highlights the parlous state of Ukraine's war machine given persistent doubts about continued American financial support.
Kelin said the West must now understand its mistakes in supporting Ukraine.
Ukraine must also accept that resisting the invasion was a mistake.
An astonishing claim.
God knows how much More atrocities like Bucha It would have been possible to visit Ukraine if it had not gone into battle.
Some impudence from the ambassador at the time considering the staggering cost of the war to Russia – 300,000 soldiers killed and wounded, Destroying thousands of tanks Its economy is isolated from the West.
But that is not what is meant.
Firefighters work at the site of a Russian drone strike in Kharkiv this month. Photo: Reuters
Kylin's ability to deliver some blows to Ukraine and the West's poor record in this war highlights the way the conflict is playing out.
The harsh truth is that Putin's regime has gotten away with taking parts of its neighbor by force.
In a poignant moment, Kylin laughed as he mocked the Ukrainians for not handing over Mariupol early enough to avoid its destruction.
This would anger the people who watch the film in Ukraine the most.
Strangely enough, he said that most of the city's inhabitants were Greek, as if that made its fate more plausible.
The port city was home to many nationalities, but most were Ukrainian, and more than 10,000 people died when it was destroyed by Russian forces.
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An aerial view shows residential buildings damaged in the Russian attack on Mariupol in 2022. Image: AP
If diplomacy is the art of a patriot lying for the sake of his country, the ambassador is a master practitioner of its dark arts.
He promoted false Kremlin narratives that Boris Johnson single-handedly sabotaged peace talks, that NATO was setting up bases in Ukraine, and that Russia was a functioning democracy.
But this is the same ambassador who told Sky News that Russia had no plans to invade Ukraine a month before it did.
But there is some truth in his assessment of the state of war, or enough of it to alarm the West.
Ukraine has failed to expel the invaders.
The West has failed to punish Russia for its unprovoked aggression.
Now Russian diplomats appear increasingly confident as they jeer and mock the victims of their invasion.
