Most of Putin’s Kremlin elite oppose the Ukraine war, the report says

• Two prominent journalists told the Guardian that senior officials know that Putin’s war with Ukraine cannot be won.
• Russia has endured a series of disastrous defeats in its Ukraine-like invasion.
• Russian journalist Yevgenia Albats said fear will stop members of the elite from moving to bring down Putin.

Opposition of the Putin-era Kremlin elite to the war in Ukraine is growing, according to a series of interviews he gave Watchman.

In late February 2022, The Russian military said they would be able to take Kyiv in just a few days. But after 227 days, the Russian forces did She endured a series of disastrous defeats in Ukraine.

Ukrainian forces recently pushed the Russian army back from thousands of square miles of land in the east Ukraine, prompting the Kremlin to launch a chaotic mobilization of reservists and civilians.

As a result, senior Putin officials now believe the war has been lost.

A well-connected Russian journalist told the Guardian that “extreme awe” had captured much of the political elite, saying: “The higher you go, the more despair you feel. There is a general understanding now that war cannot be won.”

Another journalist, Yevgenia Albats, a Russian investigative reporter and editor of the New Times who was recently forced out of Russia, also spoke to The Guardian and said her sources within the Russian administration are estimated to be at least 70% of senior officials. They oppose it. for war.

Washington Post He also spoke of serious concerns among Putin’s aides and advisers. “Since the beginning of the occupation, we have seen a growing concern of Putin’s inner circle,” an unnamed Western intelligence official told The Washington Post.

“Our assessments indicate that it is exercised particularly through recent Russian losses, misguided directives, and large-scale military shortcomings,” she said.

“This entire system is built around a win himleader”

However, despite this broad opposition to Putin and his shortening military mission, Albats said Putin is likely to see any official threats against his authority.

“In order for there to be a split,” an organizational split, “people need to stop being afraid,” she said.

Putin’s elite inner circle It consists mainly of former security and intelligence officials, He knows many of them from his days in St. Petersburg and in the KGB, the Soviet precursors of today’s security services Insider Tom Porter reported.

Political scientist Dmitry Oreshkin said, “This whole system is built around a win him, leader. If you get rid of Putin, you should be able to achieve quick results, but everyone knows that this is not possible now. ”

But in Putin’s regime, factionalism and infighting are on the rise. For example, Yevgeny Prigozhin – founder of the company Wagner GroupPutin’s unofficial private army is de facto – and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov declared war against Defense Minister, pro-Putin Sergei Shoigu, After a series of defeats in Ukraine, according to the Guardian.

A former Defense Ministry official said, “Putin is a very destructive character. He will play the different factions apart and see what the best outcome will be. Putin just wants to see what is best for him and the war in Ukraine,” said a former Defense Ministry official and Guardian.