Russian chief of the general staff  should seriously ‘think about mounting a coup’ to ‘get rid of that bast**d Putin’

Lord Dannatt, the former head of the British Army, urged on Thursday morning that General Gerasimov, the Russian chief of the general staff should seriously consider to mount a coup to “get rid off” Vladimir Putin.

Lord Dannatt told Sky News that the Russians’ withdrawal from the strategic city of Kherson is “probably a seminal moment in this campaign.”

Adding that “strategically they would appear to be taking a major move backwards.

“I think tactically it’s in their best interests to do that.”

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Lord Dannatt said that the withdrawal could be part of regrouping, or it could be a ruse as the Russians are “masters of deception and camouflage,” which could be an attempt to encourage the Ukrainians to advance.

He said, “Have they got something in mind which they want to spring upon the Ukrainians? That’s the question that the Ukrainian high command has to bear in mind.

“I think we all need to watch it very carefully.”

Lord Dannatt added, “If I was General Gerasimov, the Russian chief of the general staff, I’d be thinking really hard – how can I mount a coup in the Kremlin to get rid of that bast**d Putin?”

However, the Russian withdrawal from Kherson “could easily be a trap” and we must not take what Moscow says at face value, General Sir Richard Shirreff, the former NATO deputy supreme allied commander warns.

General Shirreff told Sky News that we need to ensure that Russian troops have in fact pulled back from southern Ukraine.

He said, “We had that pantomime briefing in the Kremlin yesterday between [Sergei] Shoigu and [Shoigu] Surovikin, the Russian commander.

“But we must not take anything the Russian say at face value, so I think the first question is to understand what is going on.”

He added, that if they are indeed retreating then they are “defeated,” adding, “They’ve got significant numbers on the west bank of the Dnipro, the Ukrainians have been targeting the few bridges.

“The Russians know that unless they withdraw in good order, they stand a very good chance of a major rout.”