Yevgeny Kiselev: The more one remains in power, the harder it is to retain it

Russian president Vladimir Putin annexed Ukrainian peninsula Crimea and began a war in Donbas to retain his power.

Journalist Yevgeny Kiselev said it to Apostrof.

“The more one remains in power, the harder it is for him to retain it, the more claims he faces. The best way to consolidate power is to start and win a war,” he said.

Kiselev noted that the Russian leader planned to win the war in eastern Ukraine without much effort, as it happened to the occupation of Crimea.

“Note that Putin admitted in public, at first carefully and then more directly, that the operation in Crimea had been pre-planned and carried out under his personal control only after it became clear that it was successful. The entire world may not recognise it [that Crimea is Russian], but it won't start a nuclear war for that reason,” he stressed.

The journalist said that the West's sanctions against Russia only led to the consolidation of people around Putin.

“People believe that the cause of all their problems is that the West began a war against Russia. We are warm and fuzzy, but the whole world is against us. Unfortunately, this fooled crowd with a very low level of critical thinking – the people – really believe in this propaganda,” Kiselev said.