Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, believes the collapse and break-up of Russia has started, and the U.S. needs to be on high alert.

Danilov is a top official in Volodymyr Zelenskyy's government. He believes that Russia's collapse will have a potentially catastrophic aftermath, and is warning the U.S. that it cannot fail to be prepared as it was in the past when the Soviet Union collapsed, according to the Daily Mail.

Danilov anticipating Russia's collapse will be 'spectacular'

Danilov said that when Russia collapses, Kyiv believes it will be in a rather "spectacular" way, and that it will take place within the next few years, according to the Daily Mail.

The one caveat he pointed out is in connection to China. Danilov claims that China has a very strong influence in connection to Russia's eventual surrender.

Danilov said the West cannot allow China to gain Russian territory. If that's allowed to happen, he believes a new and very serious problem will be created, according to the Daily Mail.

As Russia allegedly falls apart, Finland has decided to join NATO, strengthening NATO's overall position as a western world alliance.

Retired U.S. General backs up Danilov

Retired commanding general of the United States Army in Europe, Ben Hodges, also believes that the "break up" of Russia "as it looks today" is forthcoming, according to Newsweek.

There are four observations in particular that have led Hodges to his conclusion:

• Russia's military has been found to be "corrupt," which has hindered it from being as effective as those on the outside had initially anticipated.
•  Russia's energy sector and defense industry is in economic turmoil.
•  Russia's decreasing population.
• Overall corruption that Russian citizens are presently enduring in connection to the sanctions placed on Russia because of their invasion of Ukraine.

"The combination of battlefield losses and the impact of sanctions on domestic Russia will make it very difficult for the Kremlin to sustain things," Hodges told Newsweek.

Putin underestimated military efforts needed to defeat and acquire the Ukraine

What Putin initially believed would be a short "special military operation" has stretched beyond a year.

Nevertheless, western countries are standing strong in coming together to demand Putin's withdraw from Ukraine, while also providing the war-torn nation with some of the hardware and funds it needs to continue standing against Russia.

At the same time, Russia is experiencing a shortage of eligible draftees, and being forced to implement drastic measures that will resolve its military personnel shortage.

Complicating matters further, Russia is also a part of OPEC+, and it’s interesting timing that Saudi Arabia and a few other countries announced on Sunday that they would be decreasing oil production.

The total reduction will be a decrease of over one million barrels of oil per day, which will start in May, according to NPR.

The announcement was a not anticipated, and the reduction in production wasn't a part of the negotiated OPEC+ agreement reached during a regularly scheduled meeting.

It was announced without warning as an apparent joint effort between Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates Iraq and a few other producers, according to NPR.