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Cracks are emerging among Vladimir Putin’s cronies over the Russian president’s military leadership and whether to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
As Ukrainian forces pummeled the city of Lyman over the weekend, Ramzan Kadyrov, a longtime Putin ally and leader of Chechnya, lashed out at Putin’s approach there, criticizing Russian troops’ withdrawal and the Russian commander of the Central Military District, Alexander Lapin.
“It’s not a shame that Lapin is mediocre, but the fact that he is covered at the top by the leaders in the General Staff,” he said on Saturday, taking a dig at the entire operation. “There is no place for nepotism in the army, especially in difficult times.”