Russian TV Host Asks Why Putin's Troops Are Getting Kicked Out Of Ukraine

Russian State TV host Sergey Mardan confronted a former military commander on why Russia was unable to prevent Ukraine from taking back Lyman following the defeat, Gerrard Kaonga reported for Newsweek.

Photo Insert: Andrey Gurulyov, former deputy commander of Russia's southern military district

Russia's loss of Lyman, which is located in the Donetsk region and was being used as a transport and logistics hub, presented a fresh blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin as he escalated the war by annexing four regions of Ukraine.

The Russian State TV host's guest, Andrey Gurulyov, the former deputy commander of Russia's southern military district, said he was unable to give a valid reason for the failings. The video has since gone viral on Twitter and has been viewed more than 900,000 times after being posted by The Daily Beast's Julia Davis.

"Stunned reactions keep coming in with respect to Ukraine reclaiming Lyman," she wrote.

"Andrey Gurulyov said he couldn't explain the defeat. He blamed [it] on a system of lies 'top to bottom' and was suddenly disconnected." Mardan also appeared to give a more pessimistic overview of Russia's current efforts in Ukraine.

"Unfortunately, we're having a day of not-so-good news but thank God we don't have to be quiet about them like it was with the Kharkiv regrouping," the host said.

The Defense Ministry officially announced that Krasnyi Lyman was abandoned.

"Explain to us: Did you anticipate this, or not? Was it inevitable or anticipated? Why did it happen? For several months now, not only are we not advancing, we are retreating, what's happening?" Mardan asked.

Gurulyov said that he had no explanation for why Lyman was not held and highlighted what he believed needed to be done to prevent it.

"From a military standpoint, I can't explain it. Perhaps this is a landmark milestone, not in the military sense, but also politically," he said. Gurulyov went on to criticize Russian leadership and suggested there was a problem of lying from top to bottom.

“The problem we have is the constant delivery of good reports, or you can call it constant lying. This system does not go from bottom to the top, but top to bottom." He was then cut off with the host saying it was due to connectivity issues.

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