The invasion of Ukraine in late February set Russia on a path that could eventually lead to a change of president in the Kremlin, civil war or even the collapse of the country, says Boris Bondarev, a Russian diplomat who resigned in May. quoted by Reuters.

On May 23, Bondarev announced his resignation from the Permanent Mission of Russia to the UN and other international organizations in Geneva, publishing an unprecedentedly tough appeal at the time against the war in Ukraine and the leadership in Moscow.

In a new 6,500-word essay in which he again criticizes Putin’s Russia, Bondarev argues that the Russian state is teeming with sycophants who only say yes, forcing Vladimir Putin to make decisions in a room that hears only their propaganda.

“Russia’s future will be very uncertain if Putin is removed from office,” Bondarev, who served at Moscow’s foreign ministry from 2002 to 2022, said in an essay published by Foreign Affairs magazine.

“It is quite possible that his successor will try to continue this war, especially since Putin’s main advisers are representatives of the special services. But no one in Russia has such a level, so the country is likely to enter a period of political upheaval. It can even turn into chaos,” says the diplomat.

Vladimir Putin does not regret starting the war against Ukraine

While he declined to respond to a Reuters request for comment on Bondarev’s claims, the Kremlin has previously called views similar to those expressed by Boris Bondarev “deeply mistaken,” saying President Vladimir Putin’s popularity was repeatedly demonstrated in elections.

Last Friday, the Kremlin leader said he did not regret the start of the “special military operation” on February 24, again talking about the existential struggle against the “aggressive and arrogant West”, which he said wants to destroy Russia.

“I want to be clear. It is unpleasant what is happening now, but (if Russia had not attacked Ukraine on February 24), we would later be in the same situation, only the conditions for us would be worse. Therefore, we are doing the right thing,” he added.

But nearly eight months into the war, which has sparked the worst tensions between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, the military forces sent by Putin to conquer Ukraine have failed to achieve even some of Moscow’s primary goals.

The massive army of the former superpower was humiliated on the battlefield by a much smaller force before the start of the war with the help of weapons, intelligence and advice received from Western powers led by the United States.

A former Russian diplomat says that Ukraine should not conclude a truce with Moscow

Bondarev, who describes himself as a “diplomat in exile” who decided to leave the “ship of fools”, is the son of an economist who works in Moscow’s foreign trade department and an English teacher at the State Institute of International Relations. the most prestigious higher educational institutions of Russia.

Bondarev describes how diplomats who sent propaganda messages to Moscow were rewarded:

“Diplomats who wrote such fictions received applause from their superiors and saw their fortunes grow in their careers. Moscow wanted to hear what it hoped was the truth, not what was actually happening. Ambassadors everywhere received messages and competed to see who would send the most exaggerated telegrams.”

A former Russian diplomat at the UN says any ceasefire between Kiev and Moscow will only give Vladimir Putin more time to “rearm before he strikes again”.

“There is only one thing that can really stop Putin – a massive defeat,” he says, but warns those who dream of Russia’s collapse to think about the possible consequences.

“Russians could unite behind an even more militant leader than Putin,” he says.

However, Boris Bondarev says that Russia should not be humiliated

As for what might happen after a possible Russian defeat, the former Moscow diplomat shares the view of French President Emmanuel Macron, who has repeatedly warned that Russia should not be humiliated.

He says the humiliation felt by Russians after the collapse of the USSR in 1991 should be a lesson for the West, and that any aid given after the war could help them “come to terms with the loss of their empire.”

However, other analysts, including Timothy D. Snyder, a well-known historian and professor at Yale University and the London School of Economics, rejected this thesis of Russia’s “humiliation”, saying it should not worry the West.

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