Water in Russian gas? As Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, which began on February 24, progresses, doubt grips the Kremlin’s army, which has suffered setback after setback in recent weeks. After failing to take the capital, Kyiv, and concentrating their offensive in Donbass, the Kremlin soldiers gradually lost ground to the point of losing strategic positions, most recently the city of Lyman.
A clear setback, leading some observers to say a Ukrainian victory is plausible, but also causing a stir in Moscow, where Russian officers are increasingly criticized. Among the main detractors, the sulphurous Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov who directly attacked General Alexandre Lapin, Commander-in-Chief of the Central District of the Russian Army, but also the Putin government.
“If it were up to me, I would demote him, deprive him of his reward and send him to the front, machine gun in hand, to wash away his shame at the cost of blood,” he declared.
Criticism of the army and Putin?
In this Russia with such a strong power, this open criticism is surprising. Especially since it was Vladimir Putin himself who appointed Ramzan Kadyrov as head of the Chechen republic in 2007, after two bloody wars that tore the region apart. An almost filial bond was then established between the two men.
For BFMTV’s defense consultant, Colonel Michel Goya, this departure was not made without the prior approval of Moscow. “I find it hard to imagine that Kadyrov can express himself so freely, there is a blank check, there is above all a criticism of the army behind all that,” he says.
However, the staunch Ramzan Kadyrov went even further and also considered that in order to win in Ukraine, the Russian military had to “employ more drastic means”, including the use of “low-power nuclear weapons”. To this, the Kremlin replied curtly that Kadyrov’s departure had been driven by emotion.
“Kadyrov’s statement aroused his pride as a man (by Vladimir Putin, editor’s note). We are facing a president who shows something strong in his speech, he has just annexed four regions. We have a lieutenant who is not happy, who questions his authority. There is a question of humiliation, he says that he is not up to the task, you are the boss of Russia but obviously we are losing on the pitch, ”explains Lova Rinel, an associate researcher at the Foundation, on our antenna. for Strategic Research.
A dual-purpose critique, confirming Ramzan Kadyrov’s first releases dating back to early September. There, the leader had already issued strong criticism of the military strategy used by the Russian president. “They made mistakes and I think they will draw the necessary conclusions,” he said in a message posted on his Telegram channel.
Tsar instead of the Tsar?
Although the military operation in Ukraine does not seem, for the moment, to take a favorable turn for Russia, the figure of Vladimir Putin is increasingly questioned, since discontent has been increasing in the country since the announcement of the partial mobilization . Indeed, several observers believe that Kadyrov would like to become “tsar instead of tsar” and position himself to become the Kremlin’s strongman instead of the current president.
“I don’t think it’s about that. The succession, the elections, it’s not going to be like that, there’s going to be a replacement and maybe it’s pushing some candidates. Somehow, if it were presidential, it would be in a certain term. , not in the short term”, estimates Viatcheskav Avioutskii, specialist in the Caucasus and professor of international relations at ESSCA.
For BFMTV defense consultant Ulysse Gosset, it seems impossible that the Chechen leader will ever come to power. “He’s a Chechen, a Muslim, he can’t claim the title of Tsar,” he analyzes.
“He is a torturer who is dangerous, he can play a role if there is chaos to help such a leader, he is not the real danger,” he adds.
In reality, through these outings, Ramzan Kadyrov wants above all to address “several targets, bastions of the right”, in particular in his region, adds Lova Rinel.
Loyal to the Kremlin
These repeated criticisms aside, the leader shows, as he has always done up to now, boundless loyalty to the Kremlin and to Vladimir Putin. On Monday he announced that he would send three of his teenage sons to fight in the Ukraine.
“The time has come (for them) to shine in a real battle, I can only salute their determination. They will soon come to the front and find themselves in the most difficult areas of the line of contact,” he said.
Since the start of the conflict, he had also announced the dispatch of a “thousand” Chechen soldiers to fight alongside Russian forces. These had been the last to fight in the streets of Mariupol before managing to retake the city and the Azovstal factory.
Source: BFM TV
