Putin told to 'freeze war' by top propagandist live on Russian TV as she warns Ukraine 'too strong'

Putin told to 'freeze war' by top propagandist live on Russian TV as she warns Ukraine 'too strong'

One of Vladimir Putin’s top propagandists has suggested that Russia should 'freeze' the war over fears Ukraine is 'too strong'

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Georgina Cutler

By Georgina Cutler


Published: 09/06/2023

- 12:39

Updated: 09/06/2023

- 15:01

The head of a Russian state TV network had regularly called for all-out war on Ukraine

One of Vladimir Putin’s top propagandists has suggested that Russia should "freeze" the war over fears Ukraine is "too strong" after receiving access to Nato-supplied weapons.

Margarita Simonyan, who is head of Russian state TV network RT, argued on prime-time television in favour of a negotiated solution.


She called on a halt to hostilities while referenda are organised in Russian-occupied territory.

It comes after Ukrainian forces stepped up their offensive yesterday using Western tanks to attack Russia's frontline.

\u200bMargarita Simonyan

Margarita Simonyan argued on prime-time television in favour of a negotiated solution

Wiki Commons

Simonyan explained that a U-turn would be the best-case scenario now that Ukraine can use Nato-supplied weapons in the counter offensive.

“I’ve been talking about this for the whole year. It would be so good to stop the bloodshed right now, stay where we are, freeze it and hold referenda,” she said on Vladimir Solovyev’s prime-time talk show on Rossiya 1.

“Do we need territories where people don’t want to live with us? I’m not sure.”

The Russian propagandist has since received backlash over her comments, especially about “disputed territories” in Ukraine.

Some of Russia’s pro-war figures have accused her of crossing Putin who “officially” recognised the occupied areas as part of Russia last year.

“Did Simonyan get a new boss now? Who is paying her? A referendum on Russia’s territories that she calls ‘disputed’ would be a Godsend for Western strategists,” Roman Alekhin, a Russian military volunteer and writer, wrote in a column for Tsargrad TV.

Igor Girkin, a former Ukrainian separatist commander accused Simonyan, an ethnic Armenian, of firstly betraying Armenia’s national interests by supporting a deal between Azerbaijan and Armenia over a breakaway region, and now trying to do the same for Russia: “We will figure things out for Russians and Russia without you.”

It comes after a sudden surge in military activity following Ukrainian reconnaissance, or "shaping" missions intended to identify weaknesses in Russian defences.

Some of Russia’s pro-war figures have accused Simonyan of crossing Putin who 'officially' recognised the occupied areas of Ukraine as part of Russia last year

Wiki Commons

Simonyan's remarks could also be a Kremlin-inspired attempt to gauge public opinion while widespread censorship is keeping the Russian leadership itself in the dark about what Russians really think.

"Simonyan’s time-to-talk argument may yet prove to have legs – but it won’t grow those legs until it has proved its worth to the propaganda machinery itself, and ultimately to the Kremlin,” Sam Greene, a Russian politics professor at King’s College London, tweeted.

When Putin sent troops to Ukraine last February, the media executive said she was “genuinely happy” and “overwhelmed with euphoria”.

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