Russian military expert Igor Girkin is known for criticizing Russia’s rulers. Now the ex-commander is speculating what threatens Putin if he is defeated.
Moscow – An unusual Kremlin critic has repeatedly spoken out since the start of the Ukraine war. Former Russian military commander Igor Girkin has long been considered an influential man in Russia’s armed forces, as well as in the Russian secret service FSB. Now he regularly criticizes Vladimir Putin and his troops on his Telegram account. He now speculated about what could happen to the Russian ruler if Russia loses to Ukraine. This was reported by the US magazine Newsweek.
“If we lose the war and nobody wrings his neck before then, someone like Navalny will send him to The Hague,” Girkin said in a video that Ukrainian government adviser Anton Gerashchenko had with English subtitles on his Twitter account has shared. In his tweet, Gerashchenko, along with many other figures in the Russian government, called Girkin, who is said to have been involved in the Russian attack on Crimea, a “terrorist”.
Speculation about the outcome of the war in Ukraine: Putin’s closest circle betrays his boss
With his speculation, Girkin responded to the question of whether it is likely that Putin’s inner circle would extradite the Russian ruler to the International Court of Justice, which he read from a smartphone. On March 17, the punitive body issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, who is accused of war crimes, including kidnapping children, for his role in the Ukraine war.
How Newsweek reports, speculation about an imminent extradition or assassination of Putin is not the only tough position that Girkin has made public in recent days. A few days earlier he had posted a critical essay on his Telegram channel, in which he accused the Russian military leadership of “blatant incompetence” and demanded that it be replaced if Russia still wants to have a chance of winning the war.
Criticism of Putin’s military leadership in the Ukraine war: Are tensions now threatening between the military and the FSB?
The controversial military blogger, who has 800,000 readers on his Telegram account, is seen in Western circles as a possible indicator of whether the mood within military and intelligence circles in Russia could be changing. The US think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) draws one conclusion from Girkin’s criticism of the military leadership: that there could already be tensions between the FSB and the military because Girkin’s criticism deliberately omits the FSB and its leadership.
So quoted Newsweek from the ISW’s assessment: “Girkin’s statements may indicate that there may be significant tensions between the Russian military leadership and the FSB, as well as within the FSB itself.” growing tensions in Putin’s inner circle”. Long thought to be the commander of several pro-Russian militia groups in eastern Ukraine, Girkin is also believed to have been involved in the downing of the Malaysian passenger plane in 2014. He repeatedly accuses the Russian leadership of acting too indecisively and softly. He calls for a tougher crackdown. (saka)
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