A former Russian politician who was overthrown in 2016 is fighting on the side of Ukrainian forces. Ilya Ponomarev told CNN on Wednesday that he believed Putin’s days in power were numbered. He called Putin a “dictator” and said he was confident Ukrainian forces would “prevail”.
A former Russian lawmaker who fought for Ukraine told CNN on Wednesday that he believed that the days of Russian President Vladimir Putin were numbered because “no dictator can survive the defeat of the war.” Ilya Ponomarev has been living in Kyiv, Ukraine since 2016 after being ousted from the Russian parliament. Following the Russian invasion on February 24, the former politician took up arms and joined the Ukrainian forces. Speaking from Kyiv, Ponomarev told CNN that he decided to fight on the side of the Ukrainian troops because he wanted to “defend humanity and Europe.” It is not clear exactly what his role is in the forces. “No dictator can survive the defeat of the war,” Ponomarev said of Putin. “[Putin] he has no way of winning the war. “ “Putin will try to claim a sure victory – a fantastic victory – on May 9. “I am absolutely sure of that, but the reality is that he is losing the war.” “I think that the Ukrainian army and the Ukrainian people will not stop until the Ukrainian territory is liberated.” You can watch the full interview here: May 9, otherwise known as Victory Day, is an important holiday in Russia that commemorates the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 and is usually marked by a huge military parade in front of the Kremlin. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said last month that Russian troops were being informed that the war should end on May 9. Western officials believe Putin will want to take control of Donbass and other eastern regions of Ukraine by that date, according to CNN. Ponomarev, who has opposed Putin in the past, was a member of the Russian parliament from 2007 to 2016, Reuters reported. In 2014, he became the only lawmaker to vote against the annexation of Crimea, according to Reuters. He was indicted for failing to fulfill his duties in 2016 and moving to Kyiv, according to the Russian news agency TAAS. Read the original article in Business Insider
