According to a report, a member of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle expressed discontent at the Kremlin leader’s handling of the conflict in Ukraine.
Although a name cannot be confirmed, U.S intelligence found details about the opposition that were revealed by the Washington Post. These details were part of President Joe Biden’s daily intelligence briefings.
According to Friday’s report, the critic raised concerns about the management of the war effort as well as the mistakes made by the military leaders who carried out the war.
Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, acknowledged that there were disagreements. However, he said that the claim that Putin was being challenged by someone in his inner circle was “absolutely false”.
This criticism is the latest sign that losses in the conflict in Ukraine are creating chaos within Russia and the Kremlin, despite Putin’s insistent on moving ahead.
Putin isn’t the only Russian leader who is under intense scrutiny because of the way that the war is progressing, now in its eighth-month and with no end in sight.
Kirill Stremousov was the deputy head for the Russian administration established in the Kherson region they control. He urged Sergei Shoigu, Russian Defense Minister, to commit suicide after the Ukrainian offensive.
Putin summoned about 300,000 Russian reservists to help it overcome setbacks. However, this prompted a mass exodus from Russia of military-eligible men to avoid the conflict. Shoigu stated earlier this week that more than 200,000 reservists had joined the Armed Forces and that the personnel of the newly established units are currently being trained at eighty training ground and six training centres.
Russia wants to annexe four regions of Ukraine, despite protests from Western leaders. They have called the referendums that led to them fraudulent and declared Russia’s move to seize territory a violation international law. This has exacerbated tensions between Russia and the West, as well as a renewed focus on whether Moscow would use tactical nuclear weapons now that its successes have been few and far between.
After the annexation, the Biden administration issued new sanctions against Russian officials. Jake Sullivan, national security advisor, warned of “catastrophic” consequences if they launch a nuke weapon. However, neither Sullivan nor any other U.S. official has provided specific details about what a response would look like.
Biden, during a New York fundraising event, warned that there is a nuclear “Armageddon.”
