Putin’s ‘closest associates’ growing discontent with Ukraine war

Vladimir Putin this week observed his military forces as they carried out nuclear exercises, having already warned he will use “all means available” to defend his country in Russia’s war against Ukraine. But, as Moscow’s military continues to underperform, many in the West have expressed fears that Putin will feel the need to use nuclear weapons to save face. Others aren’t so sure, however, and believe that Russia’s lengthy war is beginning to stir concern in the Kremlin that will lead to other decisions. Russian political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya recently claimed that the elites in Moscow are starting to realise that defeat in Ukraine is not just possible, but becoming increasingly likely. Putin is, as a result, “becoming more isolated” and may not be supported should he turn to nuclear weapons.She made the claims in an article for The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, an international affairs think-tank based in Washington D.C. Ms Stanoyava believes that Ukraine’s recent military advances near Kharkiv and the subsequent partial mobilisation launched by Putin has caused “doubt over what price Russia is prepared to pay in order to bring Ukraine to heel.”The expert added: “The longer the conflict rages and the more resources the Russian regime throws into the furnace of war, the more divided Russia’s elites may become, and the more serious those divides.”Ms Stanovaya pointed out that, while Putin has an “extremely emotional” desire to bring Ukraine back into Russia’s orbit, other elites in Moscow are merely concerned with not being defeated in the ongoing war. Putin: Putin’s closest allies are doubting his plan, an expert says (Image: Getty) Putin: Putin oversaw nuclear exercises this week (Image: Getty) Putin: The Kremlin, Moscow (Image: Getty)Just a week prior to this, prominent TV personality and Putin ally, Vladimir Solovyov, admitted on his show that “the whole West is starting to mock us” as he discussed the Russian military’s lack of progress in the war.He added: “There hasn’t been a single operation after Kharkiv that would alleviate this bitterness, nor have there been any returned or added territories. I have a big request for our Army: please start to fight by the regulations, the way you can, the way you have been taught.”Let’s start announcing newly liberated places. What do you need for this? 300,000 have been mobilised.”Direct criticism of Putin is still largely off the table, however. This week, Russian investigators raided the home of prominent Putin critic Ksenia Sobchak.DON’T MISSChina and Russia in emergency phone call as unjust fears soar [INSIGHT]Stock market to rally despite war, inflation and recession [ANALYSIS]Russian TV pundit gate-crashes pro-Putin show and slams mobilisation [INSIGHT] Putin: Russia’s military has been criticised in the media (Image: Getty) Russia: Solovyov is a Putin loyalist (Image: Getty)Ms Sobchak is the daughter of Anatoly Sobchak, the former mayor of St Petersburg whom Putin served as a deputy under in the Nineties. She has been critical of the Russian president for years, but other Putin opponents have accused her of helping the Kremlin by posing as an opposition figure to give the impression that Russia is democratic.The most prominent of Putin’s enemies in Russia, Alexei Navalny, remains in prison on charges of fraud, contempt of court and parole violations – charges he says were manufactured by the Russian state in order to silence him.In 2020, Mr Navalny was poisoned with a nerve agent in an attack widely believed to have been orchestrated by the Kremlin. The Russian government has always denied any involvement.This week, it was reported that Mr Navalny could now face a 30-year term in prison as the Russian state brings new charges of promoting ‘terrorism and extremism’ against him.