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VLAD’S END
Ukraine’s invasion may sign Putin’s death warrant – rivals will poison him if he doesn’t get grip, warns Brit ex-colonel
Watch our exclusive interview with Colonel de Bretton-Gordon on Ukraine's invasion of Kursk
VLADIMIR Putin's "gangster chums" will be lining up to poison the tyrant unless he gets a grip on Ukraine's surprise invasion, a former British Army officer has warned.
As Ukraine brings the war to Putin's doorstep, Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon said the Russian despot needs to act "very quickly" to maintain his iron-grip on power.
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Only months away from the US election, the Kursk incursion sends a message from Kyiv to America that "Russia is very beatable, but we need the kit”, Colonel de Bretton-Gordon said.
He told The Sun: "People had lost faith in what the Ukraine military can do.
"This is very much a demonstration of actually, yeah, we can do this. And if you help us, we can finish this off.
"This seems to be a real opportunity that the West must grasp."
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Since launching a bold invasion across the western Russian border on August 6, Kyiv has seized dozens of villages in Kursk and occupied more than 1,000 sq km of land.
In a humiliating blow to Putin, countless soldiers have surrendered, hundreds of prisoners of war have been captured and tens of thousands of civilians evacuated.
Putin is on thin ice and the temperature is getting hotter
Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon
Colonel de Bretton-Gordon said the tyrant must now be looking around at his closest allies in the Kremlin wondering how quickly they might turn on him.
"Although Putin does have an iron grip, the fact that so many people are talking and understanding what is happening, he's got to sort this out very quickly," he said.
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“If he doesn't, there'll be lots of his gangster chums who'll quite happily slip something in his tea and take over.
“Putin is on thin ice and the temperature is getting hotter.”
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Speaking of the WW2 battles in Kursk in 1943, Colonel de Bretton-Gordon told how they marked "the beginning of the end of the Nazis".
If the current Kursk incursion continues to be successful, he said: "If we're talking in a year or two’s time, we might be saying, Kursk yet again, has had a significant impact.
"The Ukrainians have proved that actually, they can take Russian territory.
"We should soon be in a position where they can come to some sort of negotiation that satisfies both sides."
There'll be lots of his gangster chums who'll quite happily slip something in his tea and take over
Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon
Ukraine's "impressive" operation across the borderlands is the result of years of preparation, Colonel de Bretton-Gordon said.
The former tank commander said his own regiment would take some two years to train for an equivalent mission.
Despite it being a “small, tactical battle,” he believes the impact against Russia’s “failed military” is significant.
And Putin's troops are “barely trained conscripts surrendering en masse”, that have "completely caved in" in the face of Ukraine's assault.
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An ageing Putin, 71, has called countless security meetings to try and tackle the Kursk incursion since Ukraine burst into Russia.
Colonel de Bretton-Gordon explained how his panicky reaction to Kyiv's gains could be the beginning of his undoing.
“Putin's panicking. He's the president of Russia but he's getting involved in tiny tactical battles, which is never good," the former Army officer said.
"It was Hitler's downfall when he got involved in that."
Footage thought to be from the first few hours of the surprise incursion captured some of Putin's own elite FSB agents being forced to wave white flags and surrender on Russian soil.
On Friday Ukraine delivered yet another cutting blow to enemy forces in Kursk when they obliterated a key bridge used for transporting army goods over the River Seym.
Even state TV - usually under strict Kremlin control as part of Putin's propaganda war machine - has begun to breakaway from the party line.
Filmmaker and Kremlin puppet Karen Shakhnazarov rambled on air: "I believe that we should always proceed on the basis that we could lose.
"We could lose if such blunders continue. And this isn't defeatism. This isn't scaremongering.
"It's simply a clear understanding of the price which we and our homeland will have to pay."
And this week Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko - a longtime ally of Putin - turned on his years of support for Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine.
He pleaded: "Let's sit down at the negotiating table and end this brawl.
"Neither the Ukrainian people, nor the Russians, nor the Belarusians need it. They [the West] need it."
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Putin is said to be weighing up which of his Kremlin chiefs should lose their jobs over the colossal military failure, with criminal cases even being prepared for some high-ranking army officials.
Only days after the dictator marked 25 years of brutal rule, he is facing a struggle to put out the growing fire threatening his ruthless campaign.
Inside Ukraine's invasion of Russia
Why has the Ukrainian invasion of Russia been so successful?
A DARING Ukrainian military push into Russia's Kursk region has become the largest attack on the country since World War Two.
Kyiv's forces have seized scores of villages, taken hundreds of prisoners and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of civilians.
After more than a week of fighting, Russian troops are still struggling to drive out the invaders.
Why has Russian military been caught so unprepared?
- A long undefended border
Russia's regions of Kursk, Bryansk and Belgorod share a 720-mile border with Ukraine - including a 152-mile section in the Kursk region.
And it only had symbolic protection before Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022.
It's been reinforced since then with checkpoints on key roads and field fortifications in places - but not enough to repel a Ukrainian assault.
The most capable Russian units are fighting in eastern Ukraine, leaving the border vulnerable to attack.
- Element of surprise
Ukrainian troops participating in the incursion were reportedly only told about their mission a day before it began.
The secrecy contrasted with last year's counteroffensive - when Ukraine openly declared its goal of cutting the land corridor to annexed Crimea.
Ukraine ended up failing as troops trudged through Russian minefields and were pummelled by artillery and drones.
But in Kursk, Ukrainian troops didn't face any of these obstacles.
Battle-hardened units easily overwhelmed Russian border guards and small infantry units made up of inexperienced conscripts.
The Ukrainians drove deep into the region in several directions - facing little resistance and sowing chaos and panic.
- Russia's slow response
The Russian military command initially relied on warplanes and choppers to try to stop the onslaught.
At least one Russian helicopter gunship was shot down and another was damaged.
Moscow began pulling in reinforcements, managing to slow Ukraine's advances - but failed to completely block troops.
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