Russian President Vladimir Putin would have his “days numbered” as he could be assassinated by his own military chiefs, who would be fed up with significant losses in Ukraine to end the war, a former CIA chief has said.
Speaking to The Sun, James Olson, a decorated former counterintelligence chief, called the Kremlin leader a “walking dead man.”
“It’s not going well. I think Putin is in a no-win situation now,” said Olson, who is a 30-year veteran of the agency.
He also declared that Putin will never agree to withdraw his forces from Ukraine until he assumes full control of the four regions that are partially occupied and illegally annexed.
“If Putin stays in power, there will be a long war because he won’t give up, but I don’t think Putin will stay in power,” said Olson, who predicted that he would be removed from power.
The former CIA chief noted that Putin could be deposed in an uprising, or could be assassinated, adding that Russia’s own military leaders are “disgusted” at the high casualty rate in Ukraine.
“He wouldn’t survive that. I think Putin is more likely to be eliminated than a military defeat,” said Olson, who is currently a professor of international affairs at Texas A&M University.
Russian forces have suffered around 200,000 casualties in Ukraine, a number that includes soldiers killed and wounded, according to a latest update from the UK Ministry of Defense on Sunday.
Reports say Putin planned to conquer Ukraine in three days, which turned into 13 months as Kremlin troops have fought a bloody fight for control of small towns in the east.
Olson warned that if Putin continues to cling to power any longer, there is a risk that the war could spread beyond Ukraine’s borders, including to Moldova, which has been under constant tension from a possible Russian invasion.