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In the interview, Hodges argued that the Russian government no longer has total unity or a vision for both the war against Ukraine and Russia itself.
“I see a lot of indicators that people are not satisfied with what is happening and many already understand how big of a mistake it was to attack Ukraine,” Hodges said.
“Alexander Dugin (Russian ultra-nationalist philosopher) openly says that Putin needs to be killed. We see the North Caucasus and (Chechen leader Ramzan) Kadyrov, who is anticipating Russia’s possible collapse and is trying to protect himself somehow. I absolutely don’t call for regime change in Russia – this is the choice for the Russian people to make, but we must understand that whoever comes after Putin will be much worse.”
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Hodges suggested that leaders inside Russia might decide that losing the war in Ukraine is bad, but losing Russia is even worse. Their conclusion could be that it is time to withdraw troops from Ukraine and focus on keeping Russia from disintegrating.
According to a Nov. 12 report from the Institute for the Study of War, the withdrawal of Russian troops from the city of Kherson is fueling an ideological rift between military leaders and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, undermining his credibility.
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According to blogger and journalist Denis Kazansky, the state has essentially disappeared in Russia, as oligarchs like Yevgeny Prigozhin rise to power and create private armies which are completely unregulated.
Russian media outlet Meduza reported that Prigozhin is thinking about creating some kind of a “conservative movement” that could later turn into a political party.
Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
