Former Russian Prime Minister Kasyanov: Putin believed the false reports of the services about Ukraine's weakness

The former prime minister of Russia during Putin's rule, who left his country in protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, said that Putin made a mistake that he cannot admit to by deciding to attack a neighboring country.

He believed the reports of his services, according to which Ukraine was weak, he said in an interview with the French news agency in Paris during a conference organized by the French organization Russia-Freedom.

In his opinion, Putin currently thinks that he is winning the war with Ukraine.

Kasyanov also called on European countries to provide Ukraine with more anti-aircraft weapons, anticipating that Russia will intensify attacks in the winter.

How to end the war?

Kasyanov has been living in exile in the capital of Latvia, Riga, since 2022. He revealed that he still maintains contacts with the Russian elite. Everyone wants the war to end. At least the vast majority, he said.

The difference is in how it would end: some want the war to end in victory, others want Putin to fail, and still others just want it to end regardless of the outcome, he explained.

Russians are used to difficulties

At the same time, he "does not see any signs of willingness to revolt" in Russian society. Even despite the numerous victims of the war and the increase in the cost of living.

He explains that "Russians have been living with high inflation for 30 years," so they have become accustomed to difficult conditions. "In this country, which has become practically totalitarian, only a really large mobilization could lead to demonstrations," Kasyanov told AFP.

“Putin wants people to believe he is a psychopath.”

The biggest mistake of the West and Europeans is that they are too afraid of Putin. He's not as strong as he seems, he said.

He added that Putin wants people "to believe he is a psychopath" when, in his opinion, the Russian leader is just a "calculating cynic."

Kasyanov said in an interview with AFP that despite Russia's increasingly numerous hybrid attacks on European countries, he does not believe that Putin will decide on open war with Europe.

In his opinion, he is only a provocateur, which is only confirmed by his past in the KGB. That is why he is trying to push the West into a reaction that he can present as a direct attack against Russia.

Kasyanov was prime minister during Putin's first presidency from 2000 to 2004. Previously, in 1999-2000, he held the position of Minister of Finance. He later became an outspoken critic of the Kremlin. He left Russia in 2022.