Russia ‘sinking’, elites distancing themselves from Vladimir Putin: Ex-envoy

Russia-Ukraine War: "The thing about authoritarian regimes, is that they seem stable, but they are completely unstable," John Herbst said.

The elite around Russian president Vladimir Putin are looking for ways to escape the “sinking ship”, a former United States ambassador to Ukraine told Newsweek.

Russia-Ukraine War: Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Reuters)

"At a minimum, since last September, the fissures in Russian elite society have become apparent," the senior director of the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center John Herbst said referring to clashes between Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and Russia's defense minister Sergei Shoigu.

Prigozhin has threatened to withdraw over an apparent lack of ammunition for his fighters several times.

"The thing about authoritarian regimes, is that they seem stable, but they are completely unstable," John Herbst said, adding, "The sharp criticism lies within the Club of Angry Patriots...criticizing all the leadership including Putin."

The former envoy said that senior regime officials also distanced themselves from Putin's "partial mobilization" order last September.

“All those are signs of a sinking ship, and [they are] wondering how they get off. That doesn't mean the regime will collapse tomorrow. But it does mean that the obvious failure in Ukraine is placing a significant and growing strain on Putin's regime,” he said.

Earlier, the ISW assessed in December that Putin is "likely concerned" over the lack of support for his war in Ukraine among Russian elites.

“A year ago, [Putin] had lost the battle for Kyiv and the battle for Kharkiv. But his forces had regrouped and were making slow but notable progress in Donbas [in] April, May of 2022. There's no real Russian counteroffensive this year, and Ukraine is preparing for another counteroffensive. Moscow is doing even worse now than it did then. A year ago, analysts greatly overestimated Russian strength,” John Herbst said.