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President Vladimir Putin predicts that former CIA officials will be removed by Russian generals who are fed up with heavy losses in the war in Ukraine. Photo/REUTERS
WASHINGTON – Former United States (US) CIA official, James Olson, believes the President Vladimir Putin would be removed by Russian generals who were fed up with heavy losses at Ukraine .
If that happened, said Olson, the fate of the Kremlin leader would be like a “dead man walking.”
“It didn’t go well at all. I believe Putin is at a disadvantage now,” said the 30-year veteran of the American spy agency, referring to the state of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
According to Olson, Putin will never agree to withdraw his troops from Ukraine until it takes full control of the four partially-occupied territories illegally annexed by Russia last fall.
“If Putin stays in power, there will be a long war because he will not give up – but I don’t think that Putin will stay in power,” Olson said in an interview with The Sun, which was launched Tuesday (4/4/2023). “I believe he will be removed from power.”
Olson said the 70-year-old Russian leader could be overthrown in an uprising or even killed.
“I think Putin will be removed,” he said. “I will not rule out murder,” he said.
Olson, a retired spymaster and author who is a professor of international affairs at Texas A&M University, argues that Russian military leaders are “disgusted” by the high casualty rate in Ukraine.
“If Putin’s disgruntled generals stand up to him, he will become a ‘walking corpse,'” he said.
