A Kremlin propagandist said the recent events in international politics demonstrated Russia’s weakness.

Sergey Karnaukhov, the host of Karnaukhov’s Labyrinth on the Solovyov Live channel, after the U.S. carried out a surprise operation in Venezuela and dramatically seized an oil tanker sailing under a Russian flag, appeared aggrieved after having previously boasted about how effectively Russia would protect Nicolás Maduro, who wisely placed his trust in the Kremlin, the Daily Beast reported.

After the Venezuelan leader was extracted to the U.S., embarrassed Russian propagandists blamed him for his own capture and compared him to Syria’s Bashar Assad, claiming that if Russians had been granted more authority in Venezuela and Syria, everything would have turned out differently, they also reported.

Karnaukhov also complained about domestic issues and spoke about “Russia’s flailing economy”. According to the Daily Beast he also abandoned his frequent praise of Trump and said that Russia’s war against Ukraine will continue for a long time, and Moscow should be prepared to survive without relying mainly on its oil revenue.

Quoted by the Daily Beast, he said: “Our biggest task and our most important challenge is that Iran and Venezuela don’t happen here. It’s all about the economy. It ensures victory in war. It does not guarantee it, but you can’t win without it,” he told viewers.

“If we continue to remain in conditions of real stagnation—regardless of what [Central Bank governor] Ms. [Elvira] Nabiullina says—we will have colossal problems,” Solovyov added. “If we keep focusing solely on fighting inflation, they will do to us what we see them doing to Venezuela and Iran.”

He also added: “Why are we allowing total mayhem in our economy? Why do we refuse to focus on solving our main issues?” In lieu of relying on its oil revenue, he said, Russia would soon have to build “a different kind of economy.”

The Daily Beast also quoted him saying: “Our cargo transportation should be on par with China… but we’re yet to develop our territories inherited from our ancestors three hundred years ago,” he griped. We’re yet to build the roads throughout our entire northern territory of the Urals, most of Siberia and the Far East, there is just the railroad. These issues should be dealt with, but we need money for that.”

“The main argument from Trump and his team is that the Russian economy is in a very bad state, and therefore Russians will make concessions,” he said. “They don’t understand that we won’t.”