A former Russian minister has predicted Vladimir Putin could be deposed in a bloody Kremlin coup if the war efforts gets even more chaotic.
Andrei Kozyrev, who served in the first post-Soviet government in the 1990s, said dissent could be growing among the president’s allies.
Reports have emerged from Moscow in recent days that there is increasing nervousness and anger from some around Mr Putin about the invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian leader is said to have been convinced Ukraine’s defence would be broken in a few days on the basis of intelligence gathered by agents on the ground.
Instead, soldiers loyal to Kyiv have mounted a stunning resistance and Western allies have rallied to impose crippling sanctions, as well as policies to cut off energy trade with Russia.
Ukraine’s military intelligence has claimed eight Russian general involved in the slow ground campaign have been dismissed in a little more than a fortnight.
Mr Kozyrev told The Times the price for a botched war could be ‘armed escort either to the grave or to retirement’.
The ex-foreign minister was tasked by Boris Yeltsin with rebuilding relations beyond the Iron Curtain following the collapse of the Soviet Union and was part of the government during the 1991 coup attempt launched by communist hard-liners.
He said: ‘Many Russian tsars were killed. Many were dismissed one way or the other.
‘Even in the Soviet Union, there were ways; Stalin was said to have been poisoned, Khrushchev was just escorted out of the Kremlin.
‘With Putin, I very much expect there to be resistance growing and discontent growing that will be resolved one way or another.
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‘I don’t know which way but Russian history is full of unexpected outcomes.’
Mr Putin’s circle of trusted advisors has grown smaller and smaller in recent years, with his main allies now made up of ex-KGB hardliners with strong nationalist views.
More liberal voices have been largely sidelined but dissent from government figures – past or present – is still rare in a country where stepping out of line can mean jail or worse.
Dissident journalist Farida Rustamova claimed this week to have been told Kremlin officials are ‘privately denouncing’ the Ukraine invasion as a ‘clusterf***’.
President Zelensky has likened Kremlin forces to Islamic State after the mayor of Melitopol was kidnapped.
Kirill Timoshenko, deputy head of the presidential office, posted a video on social media site Telegram which he said showed a group of armed men carrying mayor Ivan Fedorov across a square.
In a video address, the president said: ‘They have transitioned into a new stage of terror, in which they try to physically liquidate representatives of Ukraine’s lawful local authorities.’
Russia-Ukraine war: Everything you need to know
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, the country has suffered widespread damages and loss of life amid a major bombing campaign.
Over two million Ukrainian refugees have fled, as cities face shortages of food, water, heat, and medicine – with the British public set to be asked to open their homes to Ukrainian refugees.
Countries have retaliated by imposing sanctions on Russia and oligarchs such as Roman Abramovich, while large companies like Disney, Starbucks, McDonald’s, and Coca-Cola have suspended business in the country.
However, despite these economic blows, Russian President Vladimir Putin hasn’t shown any signs of calling off the attack anytime soon, with attacks targeting radioactive labs.
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