Tonight, Ukraine is fighting to save parts of its territory as Russian forces claim a major victory on the battlefield. This is from the Eastern town of Avdiivka, showing Ukrainian troops there. But that key city is now in the hands of Russia with little manpower and low ammunition. Ukraine's forces are now struggling to stave off Russian attacks on critical Ukrainian strongholds along its Eastern front. President Biden, warning Ukraine's sovereignty, hangs in the balance of Congress, does not approve more funding for Ukraine. Here now to discuss is CNN military analyst, retired US Army Commanding General Mark Hurtling. General Hurtling, great to see you as always. What was your sense of the fall of this town? How significant is it? What does it tell us about what might be coming?

Yeah, Jim, it was one of several of places on the front in Ukraine that have had some tactical failures over the last couple of days. But I think it's tactical in nature. Ukrainian military is pulling back to better defensive positions, and they have seen some of the drama that has been ongoing with the Russian forces. Russia has also sustained a lot of defeats. They've had literally thousands of soldiers killed. So it's just a repositioning on the tactical side. It does not contribute that much to the operational fight. But truthfully, as these tactical reversals on the front line occur, we've got to remember, they're all tied, and this is what you and I have been talking about since the very beginning, they're all done, tied to a damaging pause in the logistical support and flow of equipment and arms to the Ukrainian forces that the U. F. And NATO has provided.

I want to get your take on what we've been witnessing in the streets of Russia this past weekend, Russian police rounding up people who are paying their respects Putin critic, Alexei Navalny. We can show some of this video. Here it is right here. I mean, this one man's face being shoved into the snow as they detain him. And I'm just wondering, I'm old enough to remember the fall of the Soviet Union, the fall of the Berlin Wall, what took place in the Soviet Union before all of that took place, and this era of promise that emerged in Russia in the years after Gorbachev, and Perestroika, and glasnost, and just all of this promise that has been erased by Vladimir Putin. Does what we're seeing this weekend really echo the tactics we witnessed during the Soviet Union?

Oh, it absolutely does, Jim. I'm reflecting back on those days, too. And in fact, I was on the East German West German border on Border Patrol the day that the wall came down, and not only in Berlin, but throughout the border. And what we are seeing is a return to the oppression, the kinds of things that the Soviet Union used to have, a secretive state. It It's always been there, but it is really going back to the days of the KGB and the darkest days of the Soviet Union. The population is being oppressed. They are fighting an illegal and ungainly war. The sanctions are having an effect. The economy is horrible in Russia right now. So you're seeing the deterioration of a great country that had the potential to be better, but Mr. Putin has taken them down the toilet.

Absolutely. I do want to show something to you and show to our viewers. Apparently, this just happened a little while ago. Trump, tonight, sharing an opinion piece on social media that compares him to Alexi Navalny, which claims that there are parallels between the Biden administration targeting Trump and Putin poisoning and allegedly killing his main political opponent. It's obviously preposterous, but this is the upside down world, Orwellian garbage that is being shared by the former President.

It's despicable, Jim. And I saw the post, it only reflects what some of his followers, the cult-like worship that his followers are saying. Comparing him, Mr. Trump, to Alexi Novolny, it boggles the common sense, the logic, and the reason that any human being would have. One of the things, Jim, when you talk to people about what they want in their leaders, the number one thing that normally comes up is that their leaders have integrity. I went to the Military Academy at West Point, where we were taught a leader does not lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate those who do. We cannot tolerate the kinds of lies and the misdirection that Mr. Trump is displaying to the American people. This is just ridiculous, putting himself in the martyr position that Alexei Navalny was in, who was opposing a dictatorial regime. And former President Trump saying he's a lot like Navalny because he's been tried on 91 criminal counts and several civil counts and been found guilty. Yeah, it is time for us to stop tolerating this individual. And it's unfortunate to me that there seems to be a cult in many in the GOP that are following this.

And it's causing not only massive problems internally and domestically in the United States, but as we've seen, and the charts you've shown all day long in terms of the number of people supporting the actions in Ukraine and getting arms back to Ukraine, over 80% who feel it's important. To have the Congress of the United States not representing their people, which they are supposed to be doing in voting for this aid, just to me, from a military perspective, you're dealing in life and death in Ukraine right now. This is unfortunately what the GOP is doing because they're following this cult-like figure.

Well, and there's also a General Hurtling. Alexi Navalny stood up to Vladimir Putin. Donald Trump does not. All right, General Mark Hurtling, thank you very much for your time. We appreciate.