Retired Russian Colonel General Leonid Ivashov stated that Russia faces severe international isolation, economic breakdowns, widespread corruption, and ineffective leadership under President Putin, as detailed in an X post by @yasminalombaert published over the past hour. Ivashov described Russia as lonely on the world stage with lost influence over neighbors, comparing the current era to the Soviet collapse under Gorbachev. He listed failures including inability to produce passenger jets, a fire destroying the last manned launchpad at Baikonur Cosmodrome due to poor maintenance, toxic food supplies reliant on palm oil, and 11 trillion rubles allegedly stolen by the Ministry of Defense, according to the X post. Ivashov characterized President Putin's annual 'Direct Line' press conference as a staged spectacle with rehearsed questions, camera angles hiding nervousness, and dodges of real queries via whataboutism, while a ticker showed regional pleas for basic needs. He noted most corrupt officials belong to the ruling party. The remarks on the war focused on tactics versus strategy but were cut off in the source. Ivashov, a former high-ranking officer, made these public criticisms recently, with the X summary emerging during the 12/29/2025 reporting window from 2:45 a.m. to 3:45 a.m. UTC.
