Paulo Fernando de BarrosInterview: Russia’s Hidden Arsenal: A CIA Veteran’s Wake-Up Call from Moscow
Russia’s Military Edge Over NATO: Larry Johnson’s Moscow Warning
The fog of war has a way of thickening when propaganda seeps into policy, turning what should be clear-eyed strategy into a gamble with catastrophe. In a recent conversation that cuts through the noise like a hypersonic missile, Professor Glenn Diesen sat down with Larry Johnson, a retired CIA analyst and counterterrorism specialist from the U.S. State Department. Johnson, fresh from a whirlwind of high-level meetings in Moscow—including chats with two Russian generals, Duma members, and Putin administration insiders—paints a picture that’s as sobering as it is revelatory. This isn’t armchair speculation; it’s a firsthand dispatch from the heart of Russia’s military machine, challenging the West’s comforting myths about a crumbling adversary on the brink.
Diesen opens the discussion with a nod to the pitfalls of disinformation, a trap the intelligence community knows all too well. “One often ends up fooling oneself,” he remarks, echoing the CIA’s historical stumbles where planted lies boomerang back as gospel. In the context of Ukraine, this manifests as a dual narrative peddled by NATO: Russia as the irredeemably malevolent aggressor, bereft of any legitimate security gripes, yet somehow feeble enough to be checkmated. It’s a story that sustains the proxy conflict, but as Diesen points out, it crumbles under scrutiny. Claims of genocidal fervor ring hollow when Russian drone strikes, numbering in the hundreds, yield minimal casualties—tragic, yes, but hardly the hallmark of extermination. More damning are the persistent prophecies of Russian collapse: missile shortages since early 2022, troops wielding shovels, scavenging fridge chips for tech. Ukrainian frontline reports, leaked via Telegram, tell a different tale—Russians arriving not as ragged conscripts but as disciplined, well-armed professionals outpacing their foes in training and firepower.
Johnson’s Moscow sojourn, spanning 28 unrestricted interviews, shatters these illusions. No topic was off-limits; no script dictated responses. He delved deep with Lieutenant General Apti Alaudinov, the architect of the audacious Suja pipeline assault—a 13-kilometer crouch-march under fire that annihilated Ukrainian positions. “Challenge anybody to walk one kilometer like that,” Johnson quips, underscoring the grit behind Russia’s methodical gains. From this vantage, the Western chorus of Russian frailty sounds like gaslighting. Let’s inventory the hardware, Johnson urges, starting with artillery. Russia churns out shells at a clip dwarfing NATO’s combined output—some estimates peg it at three times the alliance’s pace, with monthly production hitting 250,000 rounds. Barrels wear out after sustained barrages, yet Russia’s factories replace them faster too, sustaining a relentless drumbeat that Ukraine’s defenses can’t match.
Hypersonic missiles elevate the disparity to another plane. Russia boasts at least five variants—Kinzhal, Zircon, Avangard, and others—capable of Mach 6+ speeds with mid-flight agility, rendering most intercepts futile. NATO? Zero operational equivalents as of late 2025. Just this week, Johnson notes, Russia unveiled two nuclear-reactor-propelled cruise missiles: the Burevestnik, a low-altitude flyer that hugs terrain to evade radar, and Poseidon, an underwater behemoth mimicking a torpedo. Both unbound by fuel limits, they circle the globe indefinitely, warheads optional. “No maximum distance,” Johnson marvels, contrasting them with fuel-constrained Western designs. The U.S. and allies have nothing comparable—no endless-range, reactor-driven terrors lurking in silos or seas.
Drones follow suit. Russia’s Shahed and Lancet models—budget-friendly at $10,000 to $50,000 apiece—flood the skies, outproducing pricier Western Reapers ($35 million each). Tanks? Moscow rolls out 600 brand-new T-90Ms annually, a tripling from pre-war rates, while the U.S. tinkers with Abrams refurbishments ill-suited to Ukraine’s mud and minefields. “Find me one area where the West leads,” Johnson challenges. There isn’t. This isn’t bravado; it’s borne out in battlefield math and the Houthis’ Red Sea ambush, where America squandered $260 million in drones over seven weeks before declaring a hollow victory. If ragtag rebels humble U.S. tech, what fate awaits NATO against a peer like Russia?
The stakes transcend hardware; they’re existential. General Alaudinov hammered this home: Russia fights for survival, families, soil. “We’ll not stop until secure,” he vowed, unmoved by Western carrots or sticks save one—total withdrawal from Russian-claimed lands. Diesen probes the peril of hubris: underestimating foes breeds “escalation dominance” fantasies, presuming NATO can dial up pressure until Moscow blinks. Yet Russia’s economy, derided as Spain-sized or a “gas station,” outstrips NATO in wartime industry, fueled by energy revenues reinvested in sovereignty. Obama once conceded Russians would out-want any invader; proximity and stakes ensure it.
Those nuclear-powered wonders? Their genius lies beyond Armageddon. Burevestnik’s reactor tech promises aviation revolutions—jets guzzling no fuel, slashing costs over lifetimes. Space beckons too: no more disposable boosters; continuous thrust for Mars missions, slashing payloads and timelines. This echoes Russia’s innovative DNA, traced by economist Galushka to Stalin’s forge. From 1925-1955, the USSR industrialized at breakneck speed, culminating in Gagarin’s orbital leap. Galushka’s bestseller demystifies it: sanctions? Russia shrugs, self-sufficient in essentials. Boeing embargoed? Moscow births the MC-21 jetliner, test-flown and mass-ready, eyeing Global South sales. “Build a wall around us; we thrive,” he asserts. De-industrialized in the ’90s by raw export dependency, Russia flipped the script—energy dollars seeding tech giants, digital ecosystems, value-chain climbs. Ignored in Western echo chambers, this “technological sovereignty” turns hypersonic R&D into commercial boons, blurring military-civilian lines in a geoeconomic twist.
Deterrence looms largest. These arsenals aren’t Ukraine toys; they’re West-facing shields. Russia’s air defenses—Pantsir, S-300/400/500/550—foil most strikes, while offensive reach pierces any shield. Johnson recounts a fresh propaganda ploy: AI-faked footage of Putin berating General Gerasimov, peddled to sow discord. Russian contacts debunked it instantly—Putin’s base visit was routine, harmonious. Yet it fools Western audiences, propping flagging morale as Pokrovsk and Kurakhove teeter. Ukrainian channels now echo Russian respect: foes fight fiercely, “Russian at heart,” Slavic kin deserving honor, not disdain.
Desperation breeds folly. Europe’s coffers empty; whispers of seizing Russian assets, deploying troops, unleashing long-range missiles on Moscow’s heartland. Ship seizures, energy sabotage—each a direct-war spark. Johnson tempers alarm: Europe craves it but lacks inventory and sophistication. A bonfire-lit retaliation would consume the arsonists. Russia shuns preemption, targeting infrastructure to erode Zelenskyy’s grip without mass civilian blood—lessons from history hardening resolve, not breaking it. “Kill civilians, rally them ’round the flag,” Johnson explains. Thermal plants fall, services falter; support wanes.
Russia’s ethos defies zero-sum Westthink. Eleven time zones of bounty—no landlust for Europe’s scraps. They seek symbiosis, not subjugation. Chechnya’s scars? Healed with investment, yielding loyal sons like Generals Kadyrov and Alaudinov, heroes of Mariupol and Kursk. Humiliation yields rebels; rebuilding births allies. Post-Ukraine, optimism flickers: if Chechens reintegrate, so might Ukrainians, wounds mended in shared Slavic fabric.
Diplomacy’s grave? Trump’s ceasefire revival nailed it shut—pointless absent battlefield shifts. Pokrovsk’s encirclement strands thousands; surrender or slaughter looms. Putin’s June 2024 terms endure: cede Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia permanently; Ukraine forsakes NATO; alliance evacuates. Rejection? Russia advances to Kyiv, Odesa—referendums to follow. Ex-PM Azarov laments: 57 million Ukrainians in 2010; 20 million now, 35-37 million fled or fallen. Dentists in Florida, fridge fixers in the States—anecdotal exodus of a hollowed nation, recovery a mirage.
America’s pivot signals the handover: troop drawdowns in Romania, Baltics, Poland—not wholesale, but a pivot to Indo-Pacific, slashing Eastern commitments by hundreds. Europe’s tab; drag it out if solvent. Full U.S. exit awaits Ukraine’s fall—a NATO nadir exposing frailties. The front? A 1,600-km scar, New York-to-Miami sprawl, thinly manned by 700,000—Russia concentrates, probes, advances slow to spare lives. Putin’s edict: minimize casualties, methodical grind with drones, bombs, shells.
Johnson closes lauding indie voices—Duran, Napolitano, Sachs, Mearsheimer, Ritter—countering oligarch media’s lockstep. Five U.S. conglomerates dictate Gaza, Ukraine, Venezuela narratives; debate’s dead. Fifty years back, pluralism thrived; now, dissent’s YouTube fringe. Diesen’s platform? A lifeline, fostering analysis unwarped by hate. “Respect opponents,” Diesen preaches; hate blinds, policies fail.
This parallel universe—media mirage versus mud-soaked truth—breeds perfect storms. U.S. retreat tempts European escalations; Russian deterrence rebuilds amid fears of slackened vigilance. Foolish calls echo, yet Johnson’s calculus holds: direct war’s folly deters, for now. But as cities crumble and myths persist, the warning blares—heed Russia’s edge, or pay in fire.
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