Vladimir Putin’s imperialistic, dumb war on the people of Ukraine is not going too well. After leaked audio footage from the Ukraine battlefield revealed how Russian troops nearly blew up their general, and word that Putin fired over 100 FSB Secret Agents over his embarrassment — complete logistical SNAFUS from Russia and molotov cocktail-wielding grandmas standing up for Ukraine — we’ve already heard that Putin’s inner circle is maneuvering to find a successor after his disastrous display of military un-might.
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s will is strong, too, and he’s not pouting over his missing Botox supply like Putin’s reportedly doing, which says a lot. Although this is an incredibly tragic conflict (and with massive loss of life on both ends), it’s still quite something to behold how Russia’s tripping all over itself while spreading a different message. Via Newsweek, here’s what Russian investigative media group RBC reported about Putin’s furious firing of military leaders:
Those fired included Major General of Police Vasily Kukushkin, who was head of the Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Vladimir region; Major General Alexander Laas, deputy head of the Main Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Altai Territory and Major General Andrey Lipilin, head of the Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Yaroslavl Region.
Major General Alexander Udovenko of the Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Major General Yuri Instrankin, deputy head of the Department for Logistics and Medical Support of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, were also reportedly dismissed.
In addition, two other pivotal players are out of commission. Top Russian Colonel Valery Gerasimov has been missing for weeks while Lieutenant Colonel Zaur Dimayev was killed by a barrage of artillery (which hit his military SUV) this week. Interestingly enough, however, all of this dismal news arrives after the Kremlin apparently declared that it was going to win within nine months with Russia really hoping that the war’s over by Fall 2022. Well, maybe not?
(Via Newsweek & Business Insider)