There is growing public anger in Russia over the huge troop loses as some reports estimate between 80,000 to 100,000 have been killed in Ukraine and Vladimir Putin “cannot survive” the true horrors of the war which has been exposed.
The Kremlin has only officially said that 1,351 whilst the Ukraine estimates more than 45,000, but whatever the true number is the public’s anger in Russia is growing, according to an expert.
Dr John Callahan, a former diplomat and State Department spokesperson, who now works as a military adviser has been analysing in detail the war in Ukraine.
Dr Callahan told Express.co.uk, he said, “If you do a mass mobilisation, then you can p**s off the masses.
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“Putin cannot survive that, or at least we do not think he can.”
He then warned over Putin sending enormous numbers of troops into Ukraine, he said, “If you do a mass mobilisation, where do those guys come from?
“They come from factories, they come from agriculture, they come from whatever job they were doing, which is then not getting done.
“So, your economy goes even more in the toilet, and it becomes a self-licking ice cream cone of failure.”
Political elites in Russia have also seen their “fortunes decimated” with their “lifestyles turned up side down and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned the economy is on track to contract by 6% this year.
The contraction within the economy has affected the standard of living for Russians which could see Putin being toppled as anger is erupting.
He then compared Putin’s response to Russia’s losses in Ukraine along with his recruitment drive during Moscow’s Second Chechen War between which ended in 2009 after ten years.
He told Express.co.uk, “For the moment, the casualties have been at a level where the only people who are publicly angry about it are the mothers.
“But in the Chechen war, they did a mass mobilisation, and they were literally taking people off the streets.
“When you do that, you get people who would not normally have been in the army and families who would not normally have sent their sons to the army.
“And so, they got angry.
“There were protests of mothers, who were saying, ‘Where is my son, who is conscripted in this war that I don’t know anything about?
“He’s dying and what for?’
“It was a serious thing. Now, Putin does not want that to happen again.”
The Anti-Corruption Foundation executive director and long-time friend of Putin’s number one opponent Alexei Navalny, Vladimir Ashurkov warned that there discontent amongst many Russian.
He was asked by Times Radio if there is any way Putin could be toppled, Ashurkov replied, “Even though it’s difficult to raise, it’s dangerous for people in Russia to raise their voice against the war.
“People are not happy.
“The business and political elites have seen their lifestyles turned upside down, their fortunes decimated.
“The average person has seen rampant inflation. They’ve seen the deterioration of standards of living.
“Familiar Western brands McDonald’s, Ikea, Nestlé all leaving the country.”
“And people don’t understand what this war is really for,” Ashurkov added.
“It was really uncalled for, unprovoked.
“So, you don’t see any visible signs but the discontent is growing and I see that this war has made Putin regime more fragile rather than more strong.”
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