– Russia will forever be a pariah state as long as Putin is in power – Dagsavisen

Russian President Vladimir Putin faces strong opposition both at home in Russia and abroad as his war in Ukraine immediately passes two months, writes Business Insider.

“It is suicidal, what he is doing to his country, the economy and Russia’s reputation in the world,” Robert English told the website. He is a professor at the University of Southern California, specializing in Russia, the Soviet Union, and Eastern Europe.

[ Eksperter: Urealistisk at Russland kan ta hele Sør-Ukraina ]

Resistance inside the Kremlin

Strategic mistakes, huge military losses and major economic consequences as a result of Western sanctions have created resistance – also in Putin’s own ranks. A small but growing group inside the Kremlin has begun to question whether Russia’s war in Ukraine is correct, according to Business Insider. Ten sources with different positions in government and state-owned companies in Russia expressed their concern earlier this month Bloomberg. These sources consider the invasion of Ukraine a catastrophic mistake, and believe the war has set the country back decades.

While Russian President Putin himself continues to appear confident and with the belief that the war is successful, it is claimed that more and more people inside are starting to lose faith. And with good reason, says Professor English, who says Putin’s military campaign in Ukraine has already cost Russia more than the Soviet Union’s nearly ten-year war in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

– The USSR lost about 15,000 troops in Afghanistan, in ten years. Putin has lost almost as many in one month, points out English.

From Moscow, the official figures were, in late March, 1351 fallen Russian soldiers. NATO estimates, on the other hand, say that number is closer to 15,000.

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Too late to repair the damage

Ordinary Russians are also beginning to feel the war, and the Western sanctions, on their bodies.

The head of Russia’s central bank has warned that the full effect of the sanctions has not yet hit, while Moscow’s mayor says up to 200,000 workers could lose their jobs. This is due to the fact that western companies are withdrawing from the country.

“Putin has put the country far back economically, and lost all its most important trading partners in the West,” says English.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) estimated last month that Russia’s GDP will fall by ten percent this year.

English believes the damage to Russia’s international status will take a long time to recover. They can be expelled for a long time.

– Russia will forever be a pariah state in the eyes of many. There will be no new start as long as Putin is in power, the professor says.

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