Vladimir Putin is fighting for his life in Ukraine and could face a coup if defeated, said a senior diplomat who resigned over the war.
Boris Bondarev, who quit Russia’s UN mission in May, said Putin’s elites could “force him to go to sleep and never wake up” if the invasion is firmly beaten back.
Speaking to MailOnline, he said it is pointless to negotiate an end to the war with the Kremlin because it will be read as a “sign of weakness” and will only convince Russia to fight harder.
‘You provoke [Putin] with all the talk not to provoke him,’ he said. There will come a time when Putin will use something like nuclear weapons to show he means business.
Vladimir Putin could be “forced to go to sleep and never wake up” if his invasion of Ukraine fails, said a former diplomat who resigned over the war.
“If he withdraws, he is more likely to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.”
The Kremlin hardliners who started the war did so because they believe the West is “afraid, weak and unable to fight for Ukraine,” he said.
Bondarev believes that talks among Western leaders about not wanting to escalate the war or cross a Kremlin “red line” only “convinces them they were right.”
When asked how likely Putin is to be impeached, he said: “I think there are chances that Putin will be forced out of office.
“But first he must be regarded by his own people as a loser, as one who lied and fooled them.
“They have to see him as weak, and that will only happen if he is really and widely defeated in Ukraine.
“If his defeat in Ukraine is widely understood, widely known by the general population and his elite, it may force him to go to sleep and never wake up.”
Bondarev dismissed fears that whoever takes over after Putin could be a hardliner again – perhaps even less inclined to end the war.
Pre-war elites will not impeach Putin, he says, because they know they can get what they want out of him.
“Doves and not hawks” will oust Putin, he added, likely prompted by a shift in Russian public opinion against him.
While those in power within the Putin regime may try to take the top seat when it becomes vacant, Bondarev believes they will destroy each other in the process.
As for what happens to Russia next, he says the country cannot be left to its own devices or history will simply repeat itself.
He said: ‘[Russia] must be considered a very sick society… totalitarianism is disease and Putin is a symptom of that disease.
“Russia must overcome and recover from this disease. If you have a sick person, you don’t leave him on the street, so he dies, you help him recover. Russia will need help after Putin.
“You hear people say that Russia…isn’t our problem, you caused the war, so it’s your problem. That is understandable, but that is a very dangerous thought.
“If Russia is left to fend for itself, in 10 or 15 years we could face the same problem as today – Russia could end up as a giant North Korea.”
Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, with the British think tank RUSI saying the initial plan called for a 10-day attack, followed by occupation and finally annexation by August this year.
