Vladimir Putin could be replaced in a ‘military mutiny’ if he prepares for a nuclear strike, a security source has said.
The 69-year-old, who turns 70 tomorrow, has previously threatened to use ‘all the means at our disposal’ if his country is threatened.
President Volodymyr Zelensky warned this week he feared the Kremlin wasn’t ‘bluffing’.
But a British security expert says any concrete moves to deploy a nuclear strike would spark a Kremlin coup.
‘A military mutiny is the most likely end for Putin’s rule’, the source told the Mirror.
‘Faced with Putin’s recklessness and the need to prevent use of nuclear weapons, the military are most likely to stage a coup to depose him.
‘The second most likely group are Putin’s Presidential Administration of acolytes, ex-KGB spies and ex-military led by Evgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin. So far they think his nuke statements are serving their purpose.’
Putin’s most likely replacement as Kremlin leader would be his confidante Yevgeny Prigozhin, the source added.
The oligarch controls a network of companies including Wagner Group, a Russian state-backed mercenary group accused of war crimes in Africa, Syria, and Ukraine.
Fears over Putin’s willingness to launch a nuclear strike come as Russia suffers major losses in Ukraine.
Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov this week urged the Kremlin to deploy ‘low-yield’ nukes.
In a long-winded rant on the app Telegram, the region’s leader, and close ally of Putin, said ‘more drastic measures’ should be taken.’
Putin himself is rumoured to be in a secret bunker this week, preparing to make ‘key decisions about launching a tactical nuclear strike’ from a secret bunker.
The Kremlin leader has reportedly warned his closest family – including gymnast partner Alina Kabaeva – of the possibility of rapid evacuation to the mysterious location.
The exact whereabouts of Putin’s bunker is unclear, but it’s said to be a ‘long way’ from Moscow.
In the UK, defence experts are torn over the likelihood of Putin’s desperation, in the face of Russian losses, leading to a nuclear strike.
This week, defence secretary Ben Wallace played down the prospect.
He told a fringe meeting of the Tory party conference that although the use of nuclear weapons was in the Russian military doctrine, it would be unacceptable to Moscow’s allies India and China.
But Retired Major-General Jonathan Shaw has said otherwise.
If it becomes clear Russia cannot win the war in Ukraine, he says ‘inevitable defeat’ could spur on Putin.
‘He is changing the rules of the nuclear age’, the veteran told MailOnline.
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