‘Putin has already lost,’ says the head of the British armed forces

Vladimir Putin has already lost the battle in Ukraine and is weaker than a month ago, the leader of the British armed forces claimed today, after it was shown that demoralised Russian troops are disobeying orders and damaging their own equipment.

The Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, said the Russian commander had underestimated his military’s capability with his invasion, which has met with ferocious Ukrainian resistance, inflicting severe casualties on Moscow’s soldiers.

Today, the admiral described Putin’s position as “diminished,” saying he had harmed himself “by a succession of catastrophic misjudgments.” He cited the ‘insane’ choice not to inform members of his military forces that they would be invaded as one example.

He also stated that Putin’s ambitions to take all of Ukraine in a swift assault had ‘failed,’ as Vladimir Putin’s army pull away from Kyiv.

While he stated that the UK was ‘very sceptical’ about accepting Russian assertions of a pullback from the capital, he stated that there appeared to be indicators that the Kremlin was prepared to focus its efforts on Ukraine’s east and south.

Meanwhile, Sir Tony stated that Putin’s actions have only helped to highlight ‘unity and coherence among the free nations of the globe,’ and that Ukraine, unlike Russia, is supported by ‘true allies.’

The defence secretary’s remarks come a day after Sir Jeremy Fleming, the head of Britain’s GCHQ spy agency, issued an unusual assault on Putin, alleging his botched ‘personal war’ in Ukraine had backfired terribly.

Sir Fleming said the command and control of Russia’s campaign was in ‘chaos,’ and revealed new intelligence showing that ill-prepared Russian soldiers are refusing to carry out orders, sabotaging their own equipment, and even accidentally shooting down their own aircraft in a damning verdict on the ‘failing’ invasion.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated the admiral’s remarks on unity in a speech to Australia’s parliament today.

The besieged leader assured parliamentarians that his country’s fight to Putin’s soldiers is “undefeatable” and has “the backing of the free world.”

Ukraine warned today that, after losing thousands of troops, Russia has adjusted its tactics to avoid direct combat and has shifted to long-range strikes.

Senior Russian military officials said this week that their forces will move their emphasis to the eastern Donbas area, a declaration that has been received with scepticism in the West.

Earlier, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stated that Russian soldiers in Ukraine are reorganising rather than retreating.

The commander of the British armed forces spoke today at a think tank event held by the Institute for Government (IfG). While he was hopeful that Putin’s invasion would fail, he warned of ‘difficult’ times ahead.

‘The images coming out of Mariupol and elsewhere are horrible, and the following weeks will be very challenging,’ he said during the gathering.

‘However, Putin has already lost in many respects. Putin has harmed himself by a series of disastrous miscalculations, far from being the foresighted manipulator of events that he would have us think.’

Top Russian military officials have recently said that their primary objective is now the ‘liberation’ of the eastern area of Donbas, and that Moscow will deescalate its attacks farther west in Ukraine.

Ukraine and Western countries have reacted sceptically to its allegations. According to military analysts, the proclaimed concentration on the eastern Donbas region might be a ploy to make it easier for Putin to seek a face-saving departure.

Britain’s defence secretary claimed there were ‘early signs’ that Russian soldiers were fleeing, leaving Vladimir Putin’s military vulnerable to attack by Ukrainian defences.

‘I believe we are witnessing that Russia’s goals to take Kyiv and Russia’s ambitions to take the whole Ukraine and do so in a very rapid and impressive way, those ambitions have broken apart,’ he said at the event.

‘And it appears that less focus is now being placed on Kyiv, and more emphasis is being placed on the east and south.’

‘We are seeing early indicators of those forces withdrawing from Kyiv and retreating to both Russia and Belarus.’

‘That is a tough progression for Russia since they are doing so while in touch, therefore Ukraine’s armed forces will strike those Russian soldiers as they retreat.’