Thursday 22 September 2022 10:47 AM Putin's exiled former Prime Minister claims Russian despot's nuclear bomb ... trends now
Former Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov has claimed Vladimir Putin's threat to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine is a 'bluff' and predicted the collapse of his regime within two years.
Kasyanov, who served as Prime Minister under President Putin between 2000 and 2004 before being sacked and exiled, said he 'very much doubts' the Russian leader will use nuclear weapons.
It comes after Putin threatened Kyiv and the West that he won't hesitate to use nuclear weapons to protect Russian territory, as Moscow prepares to annex Ukrainian territory via sham referendums.
Kasyanov, an ardent critic of Putin who this year fled Russia to an unknown location, also claimed that the war in Ukraine, which has seen an estimated 55,000 Russian soldiers killed and thousands of tanks destroyed over the past seven months, could lead to the collapse of Putin's regime.
Anger is mounting in Moscow after Putin ordered the mobilisation of 300,000 reservists to fight in Ukraine, prompting thousands of Russians to bravely protest against being sent to the front lines in 38 cities across Russia.
Kasyanov told Channel 4 News: 'In terms of mobilisation, it's not a bluff. In terms of potential use of nuclear weapons, I think it's a bluff.'
The former Russian PM said that Putin is planning to annex occupied areas of Ukraine via sham referendums and call it his own territory before threatening to use nuclear weapons to defend it.
Former Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov has claimed Vladimir Putin's threat to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine is a 'bluff' and predicted the collapse of his regime within two years
Kasyanov, who served as Prime Minister under President Putin between 2000 and 2004 before being sacked and exiled, said he 'very much doubts' the Russian leader will use nuclear weapons. Pictured: Sarmat missile test launch on April 20 in Russian territory
Kasyanov explained: 'He wants right now to blackmail the Western leaders, the whole of Western society.
'He wants to recognise, through these artificial referendums, occupied parts of Ukraine as Russian territory and to say to the Western leaders after that, 'Putin is ready to use nuclear weapons to defend Russian sovereign territory'.
'But I very much doubt that Mr Putin will use nuclear weapons because he realises that for the Western leaders, that's the same, whether there is annexation and recognition, the nature of the war would not be changed.'
The Kremlin has ordered the mobilisation of thousands of Russian reservists and orchestrated referendums in the occupied areas of Ukraine that are set to start Friday.
Residents will be asked whether they want to become part of Russia in the provinces of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia - a vote that is certain to go Moscow's way, which means that Russia could absorb those lands as early as next week.
Kasyanov said that the conscription campaign is one of the riskiest domestic move of Putin's two decades in power, after the Kremlin promised it would not happen.
He said this, coupled with heavy losses inflicted on the Russian military by Ukrainian troops, could lead to the collapse of Putin's regime.
Kasyanov said: 'I feel that by the end of the year, there will be a completely different situation and today Mr Putin by announcing general mobilisation, Mr Putin has already started the period of his end of his era.
'The military potential of the Ukraine army will grow and they will have a decisive advantage on the battlefield that will lead to the change of the situation and, as I think, to the collapse of the Putin's regime.'
Putin raised the stakes yesterday by announcing a partial mobilization as he vowed to use 'all available means' to deter future attacks against Russia - a reference to Moscow's nuclear arsenal in a chilling new round of brinkmanship.
Some observers see Putin's move to annex Ukrainian territory along with the mobilization and renewed nuclear threats as a last-ditch attempt to force Ukraine and its Western backers into accepting the current status quo after a successful Ukrainian counteroffensive earlier this month.
Putin threatened Kyiv and the West that he won't hesitate to use nuclear weapons to protect Russian territory, as Moscow prepares to annex Ukrainian territory via sham referendums
Tatiana Stanovaya, an independent political expert who follows the Kremlin's decision-making, described Putin's rushed moves on the referendums as a pretext for upping the ante.
'This is a blunt Russian ultimatum to Ukraine and the West: Ukraine must back off or there will be a nuclear war,' Stanovaya said. 'For Putin, the annexation would legitimize the right to resort to nuclear threats to protect the Russian territory.'
The mobilization of troops is the first such move in Russia since World War II. The Soviet Union used a draft to fight its 10-year war in Afghanistan, and Russia also relied on conscripts during the two wars in Chechnya in the 1990s and early 2000s.
While Putin and his defense minister promised only a partial mobilization aimed at calling up about 300,000 reservists with previous military service, analysts say the move will severely strain the corrupt and inefficient government system and fuel instability that would threaten Putin's hold on power.
The mobilization order immediately triggered protests in Moscow and other cities that were quickly disbanded by police who detained nearly 1,400 demonstrators.
Independent news outlets said some of those arrested were served summons to report to military enlistment offices on Thursday, the first full day of conscription.
Flights out of Russia sold out after Putin's announcement.
'Every normal person is (concerned), it's horrible,' said one man, identifying himself only as Sergey, disembarking in Belgrade after a flight from Moscow.
'It is ok to be afraid of the war and
