Dissent Grows Within Russia.
Putin’s disastrous Ukraine War is causing some in his country to second guess Putin’s leadership. (NY Times)
“In Russia, the slow going and the heavy toll of President Vladimir V. Putin’s war on Ukraine are setting off questions about his military’s planning capability, his confidence in his top spies and loyal defense minister, and the quality of the intelligence that reaches him. It also shows the pitfalls of Mr. Putin’s top-down governance, in which officials and military officers have little leeway to make their own decisions and adapt to developments in real time.
The failures of Mr. Putin’s campaign are apparent in the striking number of senior military commanders believed to have been killed in the fighting. Ukraine says it has killed at least six Russian generals, while Russia acknowledges one of their deaths, along with that of the deputy commander of its Black Sea fleet. American officials say they cannot confirm the number of Russian troop deaths, but that Russia’s invasion plan appears to have been stymied by bad intelligence.”
The Ukraine War is not going according to plan, especially for a nation that fancies itself a global powerhouse. Russia has been kicked off the stage of global superpowers in the last 30 years, much to Vladimir Putin’s chagrin. This embarrassment, which started at the end of the Cold War, is at the root of his grievances with the West. Putin believes the Soviet Union should have led the World into the 21s Century as the pre-eminent super power or at least with a seat at the table of super powers. That did not happen and Vlad wants revenge.
