Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
Weeks before the war in Ukraine began, the retired general even called for Putin to resign
Even before Russian troops crossed into Ukraine in February 2022, some senior officers had sounded the alarm.
Among them was retired Colonel-General Leonid Ivashov, who chaired the All-Russian Officers Assembly.
In a rare public statement, cited by The Moscow Times in January of 2022, Ivashov urged Putin to resign or be constitutionally removed, warning that war would bring disaster to Russia itself.
Soon after, Ivashov took his concerns to the liberal-leaning Echo Moskvy radio station, one of the few outlets still willing to challenge the Kremlin at the time.
Speaking there, he said he represented not just his own views but those of his association of retired and reserve officers.
According to Ivashov, the group debated the tone of their statement before releasing it publicly—some wanted softer wording, while others demanded stronger condemnation of Putin’s policies.
The general, now 82, spoke calmly but firmly, saying he understood why active-duty officers could not express similar concerns openly.
A veteran’s warning
Ivashov’s career stretched back to the Soviet era, where he served as a senior aide to the defense minister and led negotiations with NATO and the US military.
After retiring—some say forced out by Putin in 2001—he continued to speak out on Russia’s security policies.
He regarded the invasion of Ukraine as a profound strategic error, predicting that it would damage Russia’s economy, isolate it internationally, and risk confrontation with NATO.
Years later, many observers say his warnings have proven grimly accurate.
Domestically, he foresaw a weakened economy and worsening demographic decline. Abroad, he warned of deepening isolation – all warnings that have now become reality.
According to The National Security Journal, Ivashov wrote back then: “The real danger for Russia is not NATO or the West, but the unviability of the state model, the complete incapacity and lack of professionalism of the system of power.”
Defying the Kremlin line
Despite the Kremlin’s suppression of dissent, Ivashov has continued to criticize the war.
In December 2024, speaking on UA RUS Online, he drew a stark comparison between Putin’s leadership and that of Syria’s embattled ruler Bashar al-Assad, suggesting the Russian president could face a similar downfall.
Reports have since emerged that even active-duty generals are expressing frustration—quietly but increasingly openly—over the president’s conduct of the war.
Many see a leadership unwilling to adapt its strategy despite massive losses.
According to these accounts, Putin remains fixated on his initial objectives and convinced that Russia can outlast both Ukraine and its Western backers through sheer endurance.
For him, the enormous casualties are viewed as a necessary price in a larger struggle against the West.
Clash with the generals
Putin’s refusal to revise his approach or seize diplomatic openings has further strained relations with senior officers.
His decision to cancel a recent summit in Budapest and to dismiss potential talks with the United States has been viewed by some insiders as reckless vanity.
Ivashov distinguishes between Russia’s career military officers and what he calls the Kremlin’s political “elite”—a group he accuses of incompetence and detachment from battlefield realities.
As long as such figures remain in charge, he warns, Russia faces an eventual catastrophe.
“It will not be the Kremlin’s tin soldiers who pay the price,” Ivashov has said. “It will be the professional officers and the tens of thousands of young Russian conscripts who are being killed or maimed.”
Sources: The Moscow Times, The National Security Journal, UA RUS Online, Echo Moskvy
This article is made and published by Jens Asbjørn Bogen, who may have used AI in the preparation
