A growing number of high -ranking Russian officials are coming to the conclusion that the continuation of the war in Ukraine will harm Russia in the years of separation.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been going on for almost 2 months now. During this time, the Russian army was able to occupy only one regional center of Ukraine – Kherson. At the same time, he was forced to withdraw from the Kiev, Chernihiv and Sumy regions, lost the Black Sea Fleet’s flagship, and human losses were already numerous in the Chechen and Afghan wars.
Bloomberg found out how Vladimir Putin decided to invade Ukraine and why he didn’t abandon his absurd idea.
In a narrow circle
Two Bloomberg sources say the decision to invade Ukraine was made by Putin along with several hawks, including Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov and Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev.
In the weeks since the aggression began, Putin’s board of advisers and contacts has grown much larger than the limited group of hardliners he has regularly consulted before.
Nearly eight weeks after the attack on Ukraine, military casualties are on the rise and Russia is facing unprecedented international isolation. A small but growing number of senior Kremlin insiders are quietly questioning his decision to go to war.
Disaster
The ranks of critics within the Russian government remain limited and scattered in high positions in state government and business – they believe the aggression is a big mistake that will take the country back many years, Bloomberg said. cited ten interlocutors with knowledge of the situation. They all spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions.
So far, these people do not see any opportunity for Putin to change his course. While they rely more on a shrinking circle of hardline advisers, the Russian president rejects attempts by other officials to warn him of the damaging economic and political costs, they say.
Some of Bloomberg’s interlocutors said they increasingly share fears by U.S. intelligence officials that Putin could resort to limited use of nuclear weapons if he fails in what he sees as his historic mission.
Certainly, Putin’s war remains deeply supported by the majority of the Russian elite, and many insiders publicly and even privately support the Kremlin’s version that conflict is inevitable in the West and that the economy adapts to broad horizons. sanctions imposed by the US and its allies. And public support remains strong because the initial shock and damage from the sanctions gave way to a kind of surreal stability in Russia. “
Words about the inevitable war between Russia and Ukraine are regularly heard in Putin’s speeches.
However, more and more senior Russian officials who believe that Putin’s commitment to continuing the war will hurt Russia in the years of isolation and rising tensions, leaving its economy paralyzed, puts the security is compromised, and global influence is waning, the edition concludes.
Going to the end
Senior officials tried to explain to Putin that the economic impact of the sanctions would be devastating, canceling out two decades of growth and higher living standards achieved by the Russian president during his presidency, according to agency interlocutors.
Putin, they say, shrugged off those warnings, saying that although Russia would pay a large sum, the West had no choice but to go to war.
Two days ago, Putin said the “economic blitzkrieg” attempt against Russia had failed. “The calculation is to quickly weaken the financial and economic situation in our country, provoke panic in the markets, the collapse of the banking system, a massive shortage of goods in stores,” he said on Monday in a meeting on the socio-economic situation in the country. to say with confidence that such a policy in Russia has failed, the strategy of economic blitzkrieg has failed.
Putin is still confident that the public supports him, and the Russians are willing to go through years of hardship for the sake of his vision of national greatness, the publication recounted the opinion of its sources.
Putin was determined to continue the war – even though the Kremlin had to slow down its ambitions by abandoning taking over most of Ukraine and refocusing on the fight for Donbass.
Those who disagree with Putin’s line see no visible sign that he is willing to consider ending the aggression, because of the losses-or the serious concessions needed to achieve a ceasefire.
“Because of its total dominance in the political system, alternative views are only expressed privately,” the agency wrote. According to him, limited information contributed to the fact that the Kremlin made mistakes in the early days of the offensive.
Billionaire Roman Abramovich, who helped organize Russia-Ukrainian talks, should dispel Putin’s belief that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will leave the country once the aggression begins, sources said. Bloomberg sources.
In mid-March, sanctioned billionaire Mikhail Fridman explained why no one in Russia would dare publicly condemn the war. “The distance between Mr. Putin and anyone is like the distance between Earth and galaxy.
Billionaire Oleg Deripaska at the end of March called the war “madness”, saying that “peace, unfortunately, will not come in the coming months.” Tinkoff Bank founder Oleg Tinkov, spoke out against the war and its supporters in sharper terms the other day, and also criticized the Russian army.
At the same time, only one high-ranking official “broke with the Kremlin because of the aggression”-Anatoly Chubais, who resigned as Putin’s special envoy for sustainable development and flew to Istanbul. However, Chubais refused to make any public statement about his decision.
Others who wanted to leave, including Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, were told they should stay to help deal with the economic downturn. Even earlier, the agency reported that Nabiullina tried to resign after the aggression began, but Putin refused to do so. After this publication, the Central Bank said that the information about Nabiullina’s desire to leave his post was untrue. Senior officials denounced those who left the country as “traitors”.
Source: korrespondent
