MOSCOW, August 26. /TASS/. A remark from ex-Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fydorov that Kiev is gradually losing ground to Russia on the battlefield shows that reality finally sets in for him, according to Kirill Dmitriev, Special Representative of the Russian President for Investment and Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries and Head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).

"The reality sets in, false narratives collapse, and the blame game for failures begins," Dmitriev commented in a post on X.

Earlier, Fyodorov told Reuters in an interview that Ukraine urgently needs to figure out a way to end the conflict pronto. At the same time, he said, Ukraine suffers from "an inability to innovate, entrenched corruption and nepotism and a lack of political independence in government institutions."