Russian President Vladimir Putin has no goals or strategy in the Ukraine war, according to former Russian commander Igor Girkin on Sunday.
Putin launched his "special military operation" on Ukraine on February 24, 2022, aiming for a quick victory against his Eastern European neighbor, which at the time was perceived to have a smaller, weaker military. However, Ukraine's spirited defense efforts, bolstered by Western military aid, combined with weaknesses among Putin's troops, blunted Russian military gains. More than a year later, fighting remains concentrated in eastern Ukraine, with Moscow continuing to struggle to make progress.
Mounting military losses on the battlefield have opened Putin up to criticism among Russian nationalists, who generally support the idea of taking Ukrainian territory, but have questioned the effectiveness of Moscow's military leadership.
Girkin, who rose to prominence during the 2014 annexation of Crimea and was found guilty last year of participating in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, is a leading voice among these Russian nationalists. He has also offered sharp criticisms in recent months as the war continues to stagnate.
He slammed the Russian leader for lacking goals or a strategy in a Telegram post on Sunday.
"The goals of the war are not defined, the understanding that 'this war - until the complete victory of one of the parties' - also did not arise among the inhabitants of the Planet of Pink Pony," Girkin wrote.
When announcing the invasion of Ukraine, Putin listed several of his goals—to liberate the separatist Donbas region and rid the Ukrainian government of Nazis. These motivations were scrutinized by analysts, who particularly noted that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is Jewish. The war, instead, has more broadly been viewed as an effort at seizing Ukrainian territory.
On Sunday, Girkin continued to write that there can be "no strategy" for the war if Putin is unclear on its goals, explaining this is one reason why Ukraine has managed to achieve recent victories.
"If there is no strategy, there is no conscious work on its implementation," the former commander wrote. "And the enemy initially has such a strategy and he implements it with all his might."
In a separate post, Girkin wrote that he believes Russia will soon "be beaten" since its military "did not succeed in beating the enemy during the winter-spring campaign at all."
Newsweek reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.
Girkin's remarks come as the fighting for control of Bakhmut continues, with the Wagner Group on Sunday appearing to reverse course on plans to leave the city, which has seen some of the most intense fighting of the entire war, according to Reuters. Ukrainian Commander General Oleksandr Syrsky said last week that his forces have repelled Russian troops in several attempted assaults on the city.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has reportedly planned to launch a counteroffensive in the coming months to reclaim more occupied territory since fighting on both sides largely stalled during the winter. In addition, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told reporters last week that preparations for this counteroffensive are "coming to an end."
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