Russia May 'Never Emerge' From Putin's Dark Forest: Former NATO Commander

Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander James Stavridis warned on Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is leading his country "into a dark forest from which it may never emerge."

Stavridis, a retired U.S. Navy admiral, retweeted a video from a New Year's special that aired on Russian state TV. The clip depicts a singer performing alongside several dancers in colorful garb, with the camera occasionally cutting to the audience where Russian military personnel are seen clapping to the rhythm.

Stavridis then compared the video with other New Year celebrations unfolding across the world.

"A sad contrast to thousands around the world from fireworks Sydney Harbor to crystal ball dropping Times Square celebrating a new year with real joy," he wrote. "Putin continues to lead Russia into a dark forest from which it may never emerge."

On New Year's Eve, Ukraine was battered by a Russian missile strike that reportedly killed at least four people in Kyiv, according to France 24.

Meanwhile, Newsweek reported on Sunday that former Russian military commander, Igor Girkin, had credited Ukraine's recent successes against Russian troops due to sloppiness on the part of the Kremlin.

Putin's forces have suffered embarrassing defeats since the Russian leader launched his invasion of the Eastern European country last February. The Russia-Ukraine war has attracted scathing condemnation from various international leaders from the start.

In the past, Stavridis has also slammed both Russia's strategy and its military equipment's "bad design."

On Sunday, he retweeted a post from Julia Davis, a columnist for The Daily Beast who also created the watchdog project, Russian Media Monitor.

"New Year's special on Russian state TV was creepy and surreal," Davis tweeted, along with the video of the Russian New Year's special. "Top pro-Kremlin propagandists were seated alongside military guests, whose presence was sure to remind the audience that at that very moment, Russia is bombing Ukrainian cities and slaughtering civilians next door."

Rather than targeting infrastructure, the "mass missile attacks" on Saturday deliberately took aim at residential areas, per Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba. He tweeted on Saturday morning that Putin was "celebrating" the beginning of 2023 "by killing people."

One Kyiv resident told Newsweek that after she heard blaring air raid sirens, she worried that she might get killed.

"It was very loud and scary," Daryna Antoniuk said. "The explosions began before I reached the bomb shelter. I started running. Then it turned out that the missiles hit very close to my house."

In spite of the ongoing attacks, many Ukrainians gathered on Saturday at a railway station in Kyiv, according to the news outlet Euromaidan Press. They were reportedly there to attend a New Year's Eve concert and were filmed singing their country's national anthem.

Newsweek reached out to Stavridis for additional comment.