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Vladimir Putin's ‘weak’ army cannot even defend Kremlin: Ex-Russian commander

Russia-Ukraine War: Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine's minister of internal affairs, shared a translated clip of Girkin on Twitter.

Published on: May 21, 2023, 10:08:33 IST
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Former Russian commander Igor Girkin said that president Vladimir Putin's military is currently not strong enough to defend the Kremlin. Girkin was reportedly instrumental in Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and was also responsible for commanding Russian military in Ukraine's Donbas region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin. (AFP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin. (AFP)

Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine's minister of internal affairs, shared a translated clip of Girkin on Twitter.

"If we keep fighting like this, we won't be able to hold [the southern Russian city] Rostov-on-Don in a year," Girkin said, according to Gerashchenko's translation.

"Terrorist Girkin-Strelkov is very gloomy in his evaluation of the Russian army, just like Prigozhin," Gerashchenko wrote in the caption for this tweet, referencing Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.

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Girkin said that "right now they're not that strong" adding that "in the long run, if we go on fighting like we are fighting now, we won't be able to hold anything."

"We won't even hold the Kremlin back in time," he said.

Talking of the alleged drone attack on Kremlin earlier this month, the former commander criticized Vladimir Putin for what he characterized as lack of an appropriate response.

“The Kremlin palace has already been attacked, and we have no reaction to it. If it doesn't even make the president, the commander-in-chief, become the performer of his constitutional functions, then what are you talking about here?,” Girkin said.

  • Mallika Soni
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Mallika Soni

    When not reading, this ex-literature student can be found searching for an answer to the question, "What is the purpose of journalism in society?"

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