Putin 'Failed In This War,' We'll Likely Not 'See Him Recovering': Ex-US Ambassador

Former U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, which marked its 188th day Monday, is failing.

Speaking on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, McFaul said that Putin "failed" to meet any of the "strategic objectives" he meant to accomplish in the war, adding that he is unlikely to recover from the mistakes made during the invasion.

"Remember, six months ago, he said he was going to unite Ukrainians and Russians because Ukrainians are just Russians with accents. He failed at that. He failed at denazification. He failed at demilitarization. He failed to take the capital of Kyiv," McFaul said. "And now he's just fighting in Donetsk and in Kherson. So, on the strategic level, I think he's failed in this war. I don't see him recovering."

During the interview, McFaul also referenced reports of Putin signing an order that would increase the Russian military's available combat personnel by 137,000 troops by January 1, 2023, amid reports of an increasing Russian death toll in the war and low morale among the Russian troops.

McFaul said Putin will unlikely be able to "do a draft across the board," noting that Russians would become "unhappy" if the Kremlin enlists anyone eligible to serve to bolster the Russian army's numbers.

McFaul is not the first foreign policy expert to suggest that Putin's war in Ukraine is failing. Earlier this month, former NATO leader James Stavridis said he believes Putin is aware but refuses to admit that he made a "grave mistake" invading Ukraine. He added that Putin would likely continue to push the narrative that Russia was forced to invade Ukraine by NATO.

More than 150,000 Russian troops gathered along the Ukrainian border prior to the Feb. 24 invasion. Recent estimates from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine stated that the Russian army so far endured as many as 47,100 deaths in the war. On the other hand, the Pentagon had said on Aug. 8 that Russia may have suffered as many as 80,000 casualties - meaning deaths or injuries - in its war against Ukraine.

Russia has yet to release an official military death toll. The last and only time the Kremlin commented on its losses was in March when it claimed that it had lost 498 soldiers in the war.