The invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army looks to be being scaled back by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Following a string of losses for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s troops, Moscow announced that the “special military operation” will now concentrate on the “primary goal, the liberation of Donbas.” Donbas is a region in eastern Ukraine that Russia has recognised as a separate country. Ukrainian forces, according to reports, are forcing Russians further away from Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.
According to Western intelligence, a Russian brigade commander, Colonel Medvechek, was deliberately run down and killed by his own troops.
An expert believes Putin may be suffering from health complications as Russia’s military operation struggles.
Former US National Security Council official and prominent Russia expert Fiona Hill believes Putin is “not looking so good.”
Last month, she stated, “There appears to be an urgency for this (invasion), which may also be driven by personal factors.”
“He may have a sense that time is passing him by — after all, he has been in office for 22 years, and the likelihood of a Russian leader leaving voluntarily or through elections after that kind of time is pretty slim.”
According to the former US National Security Council official, Putin is “paranoid” about a possible assassination attempt.
“Any loose talk about somebody taking him out, regime change – he believes we’re in that business anyway,” she said.
“He looks at what the US has done – and he says it openly – in Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, and many other places where we’ve intervened, and he thinks, I’m not going to let that happen here in Russia. He’s extremely concerned about this.”
Dr. Hill was asked by Politico in February whether Putin would use his nuclear weapons.
“Every time you think, ‘No, he wouldn’t, would he?’” she explained. He’d do it, I’m sure.
“And he wants us to know that, of course. It’s not that we should be intimidated and scared. We have to prepare for those contingencies and figure out what it is that we’re going to do to head them off.”
Putin signalled his willingness to use his nuclear arsenal in late February.
He directed that Russia’s nuclear deterrence forces be placed on high alert.
The US accused Putin of “totally unacceptable” escalation and stated that it would maintain its support for Ukraine as well as punitive measures against Russia.
This week, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned Putin to stop “saber-rattling” about nuclear weapons.
He stated: “Russia must realise that it will never win a nuclear war.
“NATO is not going to send troops into Ukraine… It is critical to provide assistance to Ukraine, and we are doing so.
“However, it is also critical to prevent this conflict from escalating into a full-fledged war between NATO and Russia.”
Putin’s reported plans to reduce his presence in Ukraine have been backed up by comments from British intelligence officials.
According to the Telegraph, officials have stated that Russia is withdrawing from urban warfare in order to “limit its own already significant losses.”
According to the UK Ministry of Defence, Russian forces are increasingly reliant on indiscriminate air and artillery bombardment because they are “unwilling to engage in large scale urban infantry operations.”
“It is probable that Russia will continue to utilise its heavy artillery on urban areas as it strives to reduce its own already significant losses, at the expense of additional civilian lives,” according to its most recent intelligence briefing.
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