In the eyes of the population of the Russian Federation, Putin cannot show himself as a winner, and this is his main problem, Ilya Ponomarev believes.
Russian opposition politician Ilya Ponomarev predicted the fall of the Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin's regime following a military defeat in Ukraine.
"Putin only needs a victory. More precisely, what he can declare as a victory. If certain territories are recaptured that Putin can secure for himself, then this is a definite victory for him," Ponomarev told the Espresso TV channel.
He called Putin's main problem right now - is the inability to demonstrate himself as a winner for the population of the Russian Federation.
"What Putin has been doing in recent months is more and more like some kind of suicide. Because, when he announced the annexation of Ukrainian territories, he simply could not leave Ukraine. Putin announced the annexation of territories to the Russian population, and now it’s just for him to go "will be a disaster. It will be his defeat for the Russians, and Putin will not be their leader. That is why my prediction that he will not live to see 2024 is quite real," Ponomarev added.
Ponomarev named Sergei Kiriyenko, the First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation, the leading candidate for President of Russia after Putin's departure.
