Criticism of the way the war is conducted is growing stronger. Vladimir Putin (69) apparently allows this, as long as no one wonders whether or not it is right to go to war, he believes to be an expert.
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Both the key people around Putin and the Russian media have raised surprising criticism in recent days.
– A system of lies, not bottom-up, but top-down, said Andrey Gurulyov, former deputy commander of the Southern Military District, on the Rossiya-1 television channel over the weekend – played by Russian media monitorwhen asked to explain how it was possible to be rejected by the Ukrainians at the important crossroads of Lyman.
It was in the digital program and soon after the line was cut, but it’s unclear if it was due to a technical error or if it got too slow. Guruljov is back on the program, but he said nothing more about it.
In any case, in recent days key figures such as the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and the leader of the Wagner groups of the private army Yevgeny Prigozhin have also been criticized – and the main newspapers Komsomolskaya Pravda unexpectedly openly reported Lyman’s retreat over the weekend: Russian soldiers fled the city with “empty eyes”, writes one of Russia’s best-known war correspondents, Aleksandr Kots.
Not only that: he also writes that the Russian commanders chose to leave Lyman, as there was too great a risk of being surrounded and captured. And Russian troops are characterized by desertion and poor planning.
– We have to overcome these temporary difficulties. Of course we will win, an official tells the newspaper.
Although Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is controversial, what he says is also interesting:
– Yesterday there was a parade in Izium, today the Ukrainian flag is in Lyman. What will happen tomorrow, he says of the Russian defeats, second Jellyfish.
Over the weekend, Kadyrov himself also left a message Telegram here it is advocated the use of tactical nuclear weapons.
Kadyrov blamed the head of the military district for the loss of Lyman, reports Colonel General Aleksandr Lapin Pravda. He accused Lapin of being a “mediocre” defended by the top staff.
Surprisingly, support for Kadyrov emerged from Yevgeny Prigozhin, the man behind the private army of mercenaries, the Wagner group. Prigozhin is also known as “Putin’s chef”, because he got rich thanks to the catering deals with the Kremlin. The same man was – even before the mobilization – in prisons and extermination camps and offered freedom to prisoners in exchange for war in Ukraine.
– Kadyrov’s expressive statement is obviously not my style. But I can say: Ramzan is beautiful, said Prigozhin according to Meduza, which is an independent Russian website whose publishers have fled to Latvia.
This isn’t the first time Ramzan Kadyrov has been in the Russian army – and he’s supported by Prigozhin. A few weeks ago, Kadyrov believed that 50 percent of Russian “siloviki” (those who work in the armed forces, police, border forces, customs, intelligence, etc.) should be mobilized to the front. He was supported by Prigozhin, writes Meduza.
– So far, a certain amount of criticism is allowed in Russia, concludes Peter Viggo Jakobsen of the Department of Strategy and War Studies at the Danish Defense Academy, in VG.
– With an important but: it holds true as long as there is no question of whether it is right or wrong to make war – or that the war has begun. Criticism is allowed as long as it is the best way to win the war.
– But is this a criticism or support for Putin?
– Immediately, I see it as a support for Putin. Last but not least, when the Chechen leader starts talking about the use of nuclear weapons, which Putin talked about as a possible way to defend the recently annexed parts of Ukraine, I see it as a statement that reinforces Putin’s threat. This means that Putin has the support to do it. And it’s about creating more fear in the West. This makes it all the more credible that Russia is willing to take the extreme step, says Peter Viggo Jakobsen.
Meduza spoke to sources close to the Kremlin who believe it is no coincidence that Kadyrov and Prigozhin make similar claims. Both are seen as part of the “war party”, ie those who are furthest to the right and most concerned about the escalation of the war.
Meduza’s sources speak of Prigozhin and his Wagner group in conflict with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the army. Reference is also made to an alleged verbal skirmish between the two even before the start of the war, with the use of “obscene expressions”, which Jellyfish describes it.
