President Vladimir Putin, right, speaks to his defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, second left, and head of the general staff, Valery Gerasimov, left, in the Kremlin last month. Photograph: Alexei Nikolsky/AP
Mirror: Inside Kremlin chaos amid 'cracks in Putin regime' and faltering Ukraine invasion
Russia has so far lost a number of Russian generals, with General Andrei Kolesnikov, of the 29th Combined Arms Army, killed in fighting on Friday - a top Putin's ally has admitted the war is progressing slower than expected
The Kremlin is said to have been thrown into chaos following a number of blows to Vladimir Putin's regime, as the planned invasion of Ukraine slows.
Putin is reported to be furious at the Russian failures so far but the Kremlin has denied asking China for weapons to help.
The invading forces have scarcely moved in recent days and the Russian attack is now mostly focused on intense shelling and airstrikes.
Efforts to assassinate Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky have failed with a 'hit squad' sent into Kyiv reported to have been thwarted by double agents.
Russia has so far lost a number of Russian generals, with General Andrei Kolesnikov, of the 29th Combined Arms Army, killed in fighting on Friday.
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Update: Kremlin insiders call war in Ukraine a ‘clusterf–k’ as top officers die: report (NYPost)
WNU Editor: I have been a Kremlin watcher all my life, and I certainly do not know what is happening within Putin's inner circle. So I look for the little signs, and from that try to ascertain what is really happening on the inside.
And what do I see.
I certainly do not see the chaos and dissension that the above post from the Mirror believes there is. And I certainly doubt that officials within the Kremlin are going to rush to the Mirror and do a tell-all on what is happening.
And while many Western pundits want to know who will stand up to Putin .... Dysfunction and self-deception stalk Kremlin but who will stand up to Putin? (The Guardian), the fact is that regardless of what everyone in the Kremlin felt and thought in the beginning, I am willing to bet that they are all focused on making sure this conflict ends on favorable terms for Russia. Their future depends on it.
That is why I am focused on tracking the Russian military advance by the maps that are published by news agencies like the BBC, AFP, and Financial Times. The Russian military advances 40 - 60km in a day or two, and then stays put waiting for supply lines to catch up. If that momentum is broken, that will be my red flag that something is wrong and cracks in the Kremlin may start to show-up.
One more point that I must comment on the above Mirror post. Russian Generals are usually near the front lines. I lost count during the Afghan war on how many senior Soviet commanders were killed. I expect the same in this war.