{"id":122063,"date":"2023-12-13T11:59:28","date_gmt":"2023-12-13T11:59:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leviolonrouge.com\/?p=122063"},"modified":"2023-12-13T11:59:28","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T11:59:28","slug":"putin-badly-damaged-by-war-in-ukraine-and-faces-losing-power-or-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leviolonrouge.com\/world-news\/putin-badly-damaged-by-war-in-ukraine-and-faces-losing-power-or-death\/","title":{"rendered":"Putin ‘badly damaged’ by war in Ukraine and faces ‘losing power or death’"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been “badly damaged” by the war in Ukraine and the coup attempt led by his former ally Yevgeny Prigozhin, it has been claimed.<\/p>\n

Research Fellow at the Centre for Defence Studies Matthew Sussex made the comments after Putin announced that he intends to run for “reelection” in Russia next year.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Sky News Australia, Mr Sussex said: \u201cHe\u2019s basically created a solution where he can\u2019t be anything but the Russian President.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have no one that you trust around you … then you\u2019re going to be put in a position where you either die in office or are going to be removed.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s plenty of discussion of Putin having been quite badly damaged by the war overall and the Wagner coup attempt.\u201d<\/p>\n

In August, Prigozhn was confirmed dead after he was among the people killed in a plane crash.<\/p>\n

However, his death came after his private mercenaries, the Wagner Group, staged a rebellion against the Russian government amid tensions surrounding Russia’s invasion in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

It was because of this that many believed Putin was behind Prigozhin’s sudden death.<\/p>\n

US President Joe Biden told reporters after the crash: \u201cI don\u2019t know for a fact what happened, but I\u2019m not surprised. There\u2019s not much that happens in Russia that Putin\u2019s not behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Putin claimed in October that Prigozhin’s plane crashed due to the detonation of hand grenades on the aircraft.<\/p>\n

He also suggested the Wagner boss may have been on drugs.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Putin said: \u201cFragments of hand grenades were found in the bodies of those killed in the crash.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no external impact on the plane \u2013 this is already an established fact.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, no examination was carried out to determine the presence of alcohol or drugs in the blood of the victims.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough we know \u2026 that the FSB discovered not only 10bn roubles in cash, but also 5kg of cocaine.”<\/p>\n

As Putin prepares for an election in 2024, concern remains over his biggest political opponent in Russia \u2013 Alexei Navalny.<\/p>\n

Mr Navalny is serving a 30-year prison sentence after he was arrested when returning from Germany.<\/p>\n

He had been in hospital in Berlin after being poisoned with a nerve agent.<\/p>\n

Putin’s regime has long tried to silence Mr Navalny, who has now gone missing.<\/p>\n

Mr Navalny\u2019s close ally, Leonid Volkov, said on Telegram: \u201cThis is 0 percent coincidence and 100 percent manual steering from the Kremlin.<\/p>\n

\u201cPutin knows who his main opponent is at these \u2018elections.\u2019 And he wants to make sure Navalny\u2019s voice is not heard.”<\/p>\n