The Russian President, Vladimir Putin will eventually be removed from poweraccording to a former Ukrainian foreign minister.
Volodymyr Ohryzko spoke about growing signs that divisions are beginning to emerge within the Kremlin as Putin’s war against Ukraine progresses.
In an interview with Ukraine’s Radio NV, the diplomat responded to an assessment by UCLA political science professor Daniel Treisman that eventually there will be a total collapse of the Putin regime. Multiple challenges are overwhelming his ability to react, and the dysfunction is draining confidence in the leadership of the Russian president.
According to Treisman, the Putin regime is now more vulnerable than ever to one particular threat: a crippling collapse as mounting crises overwhelm the Kremlin’s decision-making capacity.
Putin faces a host of problems as his war progressesincluding battlefield changes, elite conflicts, economic failures, shrinking budget revenues, mobilization unrest and labor protests, Treisman said. He added that this list will only grow, and as the load grows, so does the danger of loss of control.
Ohryzko, Ukraine’s foreign minister from December 2007 to March 2009, agreed with Treisman.
“The trends for Putin are very negative. Now we cannot predict when the regime will collapse, but it will happen. And it will collapse due to many circumstances,” he said.
Ohryzko spoke of the uncertainty of the war, which began after Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
“He can no longer cope with this management, because the situation begins to be uncertain for him,” Ohryzko said. “We see what is happening in the regions.”
The official added that the Russian “elites” are beginning to understand that “the center is becoming weaker and weaker.”
“This is a much greater threat to Putin than all the possible dissatisfaction [de la sociedad], which will not actually happen,” Ohryzko said. “There is a threat to the Putin regime from within, not in the form of some kind of rebellion against the things that are going on, but from ‘wounded self-esteem.’”
“Putin will be eliminated”Ohryzko added.