Olga Skabeyeva, nicknamed the ‘iron doll of Putin TV’, made the comments during her hosting slot on 60 Minutes on Sunday.
Speaking to a panellist, Skabeyeva said: “Don’t dismiss two or three million Chinese soldiers. That’s what is needed now.
“I look at Belgorod region and think how much we lack a Chinese People’s Liberation Army.”
A clip of the comment was translated into English and posted on Twitter by Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs.
The comment offers rare insight into the understanding — even amongst Putin’s most ardent supporters — that the war in Ukraine is not going well for Russia.
READ MORE: Putin allies nervous as threat of ‘sudden death’ leaves them on ‘brink’
They are now trying to seize Shebekino, a city of 40,000.
The city and almost a dozen villages and farms around it faced shelling, blackouts, fires and a panicked flight of thousands, as the governor urged residents to “temporarily leave”.
Now, as Ukrainian forces dig into the region, the situation in Belgorod risks turning into a “permanent battlefield” like that in Ukraine’s separatist region, Donbas.
Igor Girkin, former de facto defence minister of Donbas, said on Telegram on Sunday: “The Kremlin can’t do a thing to prevent the transformation of Belgorod into a permanent battlefield such as Donbas in the past nine years.
“The population is in shock and panicking. ‘Core’ Russian regions are being destroyed, and the government’s authorities is declining rapidly.”
China has not indicated that it plans to send troops into Russia, but Beijing and Moscow have deepened their ties since the beginning of the war.
In August last year, Chinese troops took part in joint military exercises in Russia with India, Belarus, Mongolia and Tajikistan also present.
In April this year, Putin highlighted increased military cooperation with China during a meeting in Moscow.
He said: “We are working actively through our military departments, regularly exchange useful information, work together in the field of military-technical cooperation, and hold joint exercises.”
