After humiliating military seatbacks, Russian President Vladimir Putin is reportedly fearing for his life as pressure mounts to win the war in Ukraine.
A senior military advisor for Ukraine said if Russia loses the war it will be the end for Putin.
"[Putin] is very afraid because there is no forgiveness in Russia for tsars who lose wars," Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovich said, according to The Times. "He is fighting for his life now. If he loses the war, at least in the minds of the Russians, it means the end. The end of him as a political figure. And possibly in the physical sense."
It comes after one of Russia's most humiliating retreats in the nine-month war.
Russia was forced to retreat from the Ukrainian city of Kherson, the only regional capital it had captured since its invasion began in February, earlier this month.
"Today is a historic day. We are getting the south of the country back, we are getting Kherson back," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an evening video address.
The withdrawal marked the third major Russian retreat of the war and the first to involve yielding such a large occupied city in the face of a major Ukrainian counter-offensive that has retaken parts of the east and south.
Kyiv has vowed to continue retaking territory, with Russian officials warning they suspect it may try to open a third front in the west with forces redeployed from Kherson.
Arestovich reportedly said the withdrawal of Russian troops has raised doubts in Russia.
"This has forced even people who are very loyal to Putin to doubt that they can win this war."
During an hour-long interview with the Washington Post in August, Zelensky also claimed Putin is fearing what could happen to him in the coming years.
"This person has no other fear but the fear for his life. His life depends on whether he is threatened by his population or not. Nothing else is threatening to him," he said.
Energy crisis
The World Health Organization (WHO) said Ukraine is a victim of an "energy crisis" as hundreds of Ukrainian hospitals and healthcare facilities lacked fuel, water and electricity to meet people's basic needs.
Russia has been targeting Ukrainian energy facilities as the country heads into winter.
Authorities said millions of Ukrainians, including in the capital Kyiv, could face power cuts at least until the end of March due to the missile attacks.
Zelensky is requesting an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss the latest Russian strikes against power-generating facilities.
"The murder of civilians and the destruction of civilian infrastructure are acts of terror. Ukraine will continue to demand a decisive response from the world to these crimes," he tweeted.
Newshub/Reuters
