Time is quickly running out for beleaguered Vladimir Putin, a top military expert has warned.
Richard Kemp told GB News that unless the Russian President can urgently turn things around in the war with Ukraine, he could face a coup within months.
Mr Kemp, a former British Army Infantry Commander Colonel, told Stephen Dixon: “The Russians are trying to wear down the Ukrainians’ willingness to resist by pounding Ukrainian cities, and killing Ukrainian soldiers in large numbers. It's now really up to the Ukrainians to keep attacking against the Russians and killing as many Russians as they can to deplete their forces as well. So, in a way we're in a sort of attrition war that might be unlocked, potentially, by one side or the other.
Vladimir Putin has been warned he could face a coup within months as Russia turns on its leader.
Reuters
“But Putin is quite frightened of the impact of large-scale casualties on cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg, and because of that he's focused a huge amount of time on recruiting from some of the peripheral areas like Siberia.
“And that itself is beginning to cause unrest. We've seen unprecedented civil protest movements occurring in some of these peripheral areas. They're not receiving much of a voice because, of course, you know, the media doesn't cover it very much.
“So there are big problems for Putin and unless he is able to produce results, I would suggest at least in the first half of 2023, the likelihood is he could face big problems domestically. There could be a coup against him.
Richard Kemp told GB News that unless the Russian President can urgently turn things around in the war with Ukraine, he could face a coup within months.
GB News
On what they would mean he continued: “That might be good news. It might be bad news. If he falls as a result of unrest inside Russia, then he could be replaced by somebody who is more willing to be aggressive or even more aggressive than he is in Ukraine. Or he could be replaced by somebody who doesn't want to carry on this war.”
On the current state of the conflict Mr Kemp added: “It can’t continue infinitely. It can go on somewhat longer, but both the Russians and the Ukrainians are being very heavily decimated. “Each side is estimated to have lost something in the region of 100,000 troops. And I reckon on the Ukrainian side, it's probably slightly higher than the Russian side.
“But the Ukrainians are able to continue mobilising their forces on a routine basis. And they're able to keep fighting because of the munitions that have been supplied to them by the West. “The Russians, on the other hand, have found it difficult to mobilise the forces they need, and they've faced mass protests.
"They faced many Russian men leaving the country to avoid being conscripted. And they're running fairly short of munitions. I'm not saying they're out of munitions or they can't keep manufacturing and pounding Ukraine but both sides are being worn down. And I think what we're likely to see in the coming months is a significant defence by the Russians. It's really in some respects, now a matter of attrition.”
Last week GB News' Home and Security editor Mark White spoke to General Lord Richard Dannatt who said strategic losses and rapidly falling morale could open the real possibility of Putin's enforced removal.
But Lord Dannatt said it was vital that Western allies, particularly the United States continued to stay the course in supplying Ukraine with state-of-the-art weapons systems.
The former head of the British Army said he believed that if Ukraine could keep up that momentum in the months ahead, the Russian President could find it increasingly difficult to cling onto power.
“If they made a significant breakthrough, I could see a set of circumstances where the Russian military’s morale would collapse. When you’ve lost the will to win, when you’ve decided you’re defeated in your own head, then you will lose.
"And of course, if that was to happen, that’s a game changer. I think we could see a change of regime in the Kremlin. I think we could see Putin out.”