Latest news with #Putin'sPlaybook
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russian general who criticized leadership may soon lead battalion of ex-cons: lawyer
A Russian general who criticized the nation's Ministry of Defense may soon be reinstated to the front lines of the war in Ukraine this week, according to a report from CNN. General Major Ivan Popov once commanded Russia's 58th Army before being sidelined, accused of fraud, and detained after blasting Russian military leadership in 2023. His lawyer and the Ministry of Defense called for him to be put in command of one of Russia's infamous detachments of ex-convicts, forces that have sustained massive casualties in the war against Ukraine. "We, together with the Ministry of Defense, have a motion to suspend on the case… with the positive decision to send Ivan to [Ukraine]," the lawyer, Sergei Buinovsky, said, according to Russian media. Popov published an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin in March, asking the leader to reinstate him to military service in order to suspend his criminal trial. Zelenskyy Claims 'Russian Narratives Are Prevailing' In Us During '60 Minutes' Interview Former defense intelligence officer and author of "Putin's Playbook" Rebekah Koffler says Putin may intervene in the case to ensure Popov is deployed to Ukraine. Read On The Fox News App "Putin routinely weighs in on high-profile cases, especially when Western media is involved," Koffler told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. "Putin is unpredictable - he may decide to let the process run its course and have Popov serve a prison sentence or he may decide to send him into the meat grinder in Ukraine and serve the 'Russian motherland,' making a propaganda case out of it, since Popov asked for it," she added. The assignment to a penal detachment is arguably a death sentence, however, as Russia's military has routinely used ex-convict forces to conduct near-suicidal missions in the war against Ukraine, leading to high casualty rates. Trump Envoy Meets Putin In Russia As Trump Fumes Over Stalled Ukraine Peace Talks "I was subjected to unjust prosecution," Popov wrote in his letter to Putin. "I wish to continue smashing the enemy in accordance with the oath I took." Popov's lawyer, Sergei Buinovskiy, told Russian media that Popov "was grateful for the trust the president has placed in him." As commander of Russia's 58th Army, Popov was in charge of a force of nearly 50,000 troops. The detachment he could soon lead likely numbers in the hundreds, however. At the head of the 58th Army, Popov gained popularity with front-line troops by repelling a Ukrainian counter-attack that relied heavily on tanks provided by NATO countries. He then blasted Russia's top commanders for allowing Ukraine's initial breakthrough. "The armed forces of Ukraine could not break through our army from the front, [but] our senior commander hit us from the rear, treacherously and vilely decapitating the army at the most difficult and tense moment," Popov said of Russian military chief-of-staff Valery Gerasimov at the time. Popov was soon reassigned to Syria before fraud charges landed him in court. He denied wrongdoing and retained many allies in Moscow who shared his criticisms of Russian military article source: Russian general who criticized leadership may soon lead battalion of ex-cons: lawyer
Fox News
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Russian general who criticized leadership may soon lead battalion of ex-cons: lawyer
A Russian general who criticized the nation's Ministry of Defense may soon be reinstated to the front lines of the war in Ukraine this week, according to a report from CNN. General Major Ivan Popov once commanded Russia's 58th Army before being sidelined, accused of fraud, and detained after blasting Russian military leadership in 2023. His lawyer and the Ministry of Defense called for him to be put in command of one of Russia's infamous detachments of ex-convicts, forces that have sustained massive casualties in the war against Ukraine. "We, together with the Ministry of Defense, have a motion to suspend on the case… with the positive decision to send Ivan to [Ukraine]," the lawyer, Sergei Buinovsky, said, according to Russian media. Popov published an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin in March, asking the leader to reinstate him to military service in order to suspend his criminal trial. Former defense intelligence officer and author of "Putin's Playbook" Rebekah Koffler says Putin may intervene in the case to ensure Popov is deployed to Ukraine. "Putin routinely weighs in on high-profile cases, especially when Western media is involved," Koffler told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. "Putin is unpredictable - he may decide to let the process run its course and have Popov serve a prison sentence or he may decide to send him into the meat grinder in Ukraine and serve the 'Russian motherland,' making a propaganda case out of it, since Popov asked for it," she added. The assignment to a penal detachment is arguably a death sentence, however, as Russia's military has routinely used ex-convict forces to conduct near-suicidal missions in the war against Ukraine, leading to high casualty rates. "I was subjected to unjust prosecution," Popov wrote in his letter to Putin. "I wish to continue smashing the enemy in accordance with the oath I took." Popov's lawyer, Sergei Buinovskiy, told Russian media that Popov "was grateful for the trust the president has placed in him." As commander of Russia's 58th Army, Popov was in charge of a force of nearly 50,000 troops. The detachment he could soon lead likely numbers in the hundreds, however. At the head of the 58th Army, Popov gained popularity with front-line troops by repelling a Ukrainian counter-attack that relied heavily on tanks provided by NATO countries. He then blasted Russia's top commanders for allowing Ukraine's initial breakthrough. "The armed forces of Ukraine could not break through our army from the front, [but] our senior commander hit us from the rear, treacherously and vilely decapitating the army at the most difficult and tense moment," Popov said of Russian military chief-of-staff Valery Gerasimov at the time. Popov was soon reassigned to Syria before fraud charges landed him in court. He denied wrongdoing and retained many allies in Moscow who shared his criticisms of Russian military leadership.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Putin conscripts 160K men as Russia eyes Ukraine offensive
Russia has initiated its largest military draft in 14 years as reports indicate Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing a spring assault on Ukraine despite ongoing peace negotiations to end the three-year war. Putin has called up 160,000 men as part of the country's bi-annual conscription drive as Russia seeks to beef up its military ranks. According to the legislation, citizens aged 18 to 30 will be called up for mandatory military service through June 15. The spring draft marks the largest conscription campaign since spring 2011, when 200,000 men were called up for service. Last year, 150,000 men were called, following 134,500 in 2022. Emmanuel Macron Calls 'Emergency Meeting' For European Leaders To Discuss Trump: Report The Kremlin and Defense Ministry insist the latest conscripts are not being sent into combat and that the draft is unrelated to the war in Ukraine. Russian authorities say troops deployed to Ukraine only include volunteers who signed contracts with the military. Some draftees, however, fought and were taken prisoners when the Ukrainian military launched an incursion into Russia's Kursk region in August. Read On The Fox News App Putin said late last year that Russia should increase the overall size of its military to almost 2.39 million and its number of active servicemen to 1.5 million. It comes as a report suggests the Kremlin is preparing a six- to nine-month offensive across the Ukrainian front, potentially stretching over 1,000 kilometers, according to The New Voice of Ukraine. Potential targets include Sumy, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhya oblasts, as well as the Kursk Oblast, where they've seen recent success. The offensive is also aimed at maximizing pressure on Ukraine and strengthening the Kremlin's negotiating position in ceasefire talks, Ukrainian government and military analysts said. Meanwhile, U.S.-led talks attempting to broker a ceasefire deal appear to have stalled. The U.S. has struggled in its efforts to secure an immediate 30-day ceasefire, despite Moscow saying it agreed with a truce "in principle." Trump Says Intel Pause On Ukraine Has Been 'Just About' Lifted; Says Tariffs Will Make America Rich Rebekah Koffler, a former DIA intelligence officer who specializes in Russia's war-fighting strategy and Putin's thinking, told Fox News Digital that Putin's goal with his conscription drive is to prolong the fighting. "There's no ceasefire and no peace plan between Russia and Ukraine to be had," said Koffler, the author of a best-selling book "Putin's Playbook." "What President Trump seeks is regretfully, unachievable. Putin's goal is to keep fighting, in order to compel Ukraine to capitulate." Trump is trying to secure a peace and rare earth minerals deal, while on Sunday the president said he did not think Putin was going to go back on his word for a partial ceasefire. Koffler, meanwhile, said the latest conscription numbers are intended to ensure that the correlation of forces on the battlefield and in reserves, continues to favor Russia. "Now that Germany and France are considering to deploy reassurance forces into Ukraine, Putin is factoring in those numbers, so he is increasing his force's posture, to deter such a deployment or failing to prevent it by force." "Putin has prepared Russia for a long, protracted conflict, in which he wants the Russian forces to be ready to fight till the last Ukrainian and the last missile in the NATO arsenal," Koffler said. She said Putin is also considering the possibility of having a direct kinetic war with NATO, in the event that NATO decides to deploy forces into the theater in Ukraine. "So, he intends for these mobilization numbers as a deterrence value and battlefield utility, if it comes to that." Fox News' Rachel Wolf and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Original article source: Putin conscripts 160K men as Russia eyes Ukraine offensive
Fox News
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Putin conscripts 160K men as Russia eyes Ukraine offensive
Russia has initiated its largest military draft in 14 years as reports indicate Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing a spring assault on Ukraine despite ongoing peace negotiations to end the three-year war. Putin has called up 160,000 men as part of the country's bi-annual conscription drive as Russia seeks to beef up its military ranks. According to the legislation, citizens aged 18 to 30 will be called up for mandatory military service through June 15. The spring draft marks the largest conscription campaign since spring 2011, when 200,000 men were called up for service. Last year, 150,000 men were called, following 134,500 in 2022. The Kremlin and Defense Ministry insist the latest conscripts are not being sent into combat and that the draft is unrelated to the war in Ukraine. Russian authorities say troops deployed to Ukraine only include volunteers who signed contracts with the military. Some draftees, however, fought and were taken prisoners when the Ukrainian military launched an incursion into Russia's Kursk region in August. Putin said late last year that Russia should increase the overall size of its military to almost 2.39 million and its number of active servicemen to 1.5 million. It comes as a report suggests the Kremlin is preparing a six- to nine-month offensive across the Ukrainian front, potentially stretching over 1,000 kilometers, according to The New Voice of Ukraine. Potential targets include Sumy, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhya oblasts, as well as the Kursk Oblast, where they've seen recent success. The offensive is also aimed at maximizing pressure on Ukraine and strengthening the Kremlin's negotiating position in ceasefire talks, Ukrainian government and military analysts said. Meanwhile, U.S.-led talks attempting to broker a ceasefire deal appear to have stalled. The U.S. has struggled in its efforts to secure an immediate 30-day ceasefire, despite Moscow saying it agreed with a truce "in principle." Rebekah Koffler, a former DIA intelligence officer who specializes in Russia's war-fighting strategy and Putin's thinking, told Fox News Digital that Putin's goal with his conscription drive is to prolong the fighting. "There's no ceasefire and no peace plan between Russia and Ukraine to be had," said Koffler, the author of a best-selling book "Putin's Playbook." "What President Trump seeks is regretfully, unachievable. Putin's goal is to keep fighting, in order to compel Ukraine to capitulate." Trump is trying to secure a peace and rare earth minerals deal, while on Sunday the president said he did not think Putin was going to go back on his word for a partial ceasefire. Koffler, meanwhile, said the latest conscription numbers are intended to ensure that the correlation of forces on the battlefield and in reserves, continues to favor Russia. "Now that Germany and France are considering to deploy reassurance forces into Ukraine, Putin is factoring in those numbers, so he is increasing his force's posture, to deter such a deployment or failing to prevent it by force." "Putin has prepared Russia for a long, protracted conflict, in which he wants the Russian forces to be ready to fight till the last Ukrainian and the last missile in the NATO arsenal," Koffler said. She said Putin is also considering the possibility of having a direct kinetic war with NATO, in the event that NATO decides to deploy forces into the theater in Ukraine. "So, he intends for these mobilization numbers as a deterrence value and battlefield utility, if it comes to that."
Fox News
22-03-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Trump eyes control of Ukraine's nuclear plants as US prepares ceasefire talks with Russia
As top U.S. officials prepare for a meeting with a Russian delegation in Saudia Arabia Sunday, questions have mounted over how the Trump administration will push Moscow to extend a preliminary ceasefire. Russian President Vladimir Putin this week agreed to temporarily halt strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, which includes Europe's largest nuclear power plant, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who will both travel to Jeddah for the negotiations, said the next step will be to secure a ceasefire over the Black Sea. Moscow had previously agreed to a similar deal brokered by Turkey and the United Nations in 2022, known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which attempted to secure Ukrainian exports of agricultural products to control global prices, but Putin pulled out of the agreement in 2023. Security experts remain unconvinced that Putin can be trusted this time around. But there is another issue that apparently will be on the negotiating table in the Middle East — Ukraine's nuclear power. As the president's focus on a mineral deal with Ukraine appears to have diminished, he has turned his interest to a new business venture, U.S. "ownership" of Kyiv's "electrical supply and nuclear power plants." "American ownership of those plants would be the best protection for that infrastructure and support for Ukrainian energy infrastructure," a joint statement released by Rubio and Waltz said after Trump's phone call Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. When asked by Fox News Digital how Putin, who has made his interest in the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant clear, will respond to Trump's new ambitions, Rebekah Koffler, a former DIA intelligence officer and author of "Putin's Playbook," said she does not think it will go over well. "Putin almost certainly is not in favor of this idea and will attempt to sabotage such a deal," said Koffler, who briefed NATO officials of Putin's ambitions in Ukraine years before the 2022 invasion. "Moreover, Zelenskyy is unlikely to sign off on such a deal also. "Zelenskyy would likely agree to cede control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to the U.S., which is currently under Russian control. The Russians will not voluntarily give up control of Zaporizhzhia. If someone tries to take it over by force, they will fight to the bitter end." It is unclear when Trump's interest in acquiring Ukraine's energy infrastructure began, though it appears to tie into his previous assertions that Ukraine will be better protected if it has American workers and businesses operating within its borders. The basis of this argument has been debated because there were, and remain, American companies operating in Ukraine during Russia's invasion. The debate contributed to an Oval Office blowup between Trump and Zelenskyy last month. Koffler said Putin could view a U.S. takeover of Kyiv's four nuclear power plants as a "backdoor way" for the U.S. to extend some security guarantees for Ukraine and a "clever way of controlling Ukraine's nuclear capability, which the Russians believe can be militarized." "It would be viewed as a threat to Russia," Koffler said. When asked how U.S. ownership of Ukraine's energy infrastructure could affect negotiations, former CIA Moscow station chief Dan Hoffman told Fox News Digital he is not convinced it will have much of an effect on actually securing peace. "Show me the deal. We don't have a deal yet. We have a ceasefire that's been broken on energy infrastructure," Hoffman pointed out. He noted that even after Putin agreed to stop attacking Ukraine's infrastructure on Tuesday, the following morning a drone strike hit a railway power system in the Dnipropetrovsk region, which led to civilian power outages. "It's just another discussion point. There are so many other issues that are of far greater importance. What Putin would probably do for his negotiating strategy is to say, 'Oh, yeah, I'll let you do that United States of America, but I want this in return'. It's always going to be that way," Hoffman added, reflecting on his own negotiations with Russian counterparts during his time with the CIA. "He wants Ukraine. He wants to topple the government. That's his objective," Hoffman added. "Whatever deals he agrees to in the short term, what he really wants to do is destroy Ukraine's ability to deter Russia in the future and to give Russia maximum advantage. "Right now, he can gain through negotiation what he can't gain on the battlefield." While a number of issues will be discussed, the former CIA Moscow station chief said the real key in accomplishing any kind of ceasefire will need to be an authentic signal from Putin that he actually wants the war to end. "The big question that John Ratcliffe has to answer is explain to me why Putin wants a ceasefire. I would argue he doesn't," Hoffman said in reference to the director of the CIA. "There is zero indication that he wants one. "If he wanted to stop the war and stop the killing of his own people and stop spilling so much blood and treasure, he would have stopped it," Hoffman argued. Ultimately, Hoffman said, when looking at how most major wars have concluded, history suggests the war in Ukraine can only truly end on the battlefield. "One side loses, one side wins, or both sides don't have the means to fight anymore," Hoffman said. "That's how the wars end."
