The race to topple Putin and take his Kremlin crown is on, says the former Russian defense minister, who has warned Moscow of a “military disaster”.

The race to topple Vladimir Putin and seize the Kremlin crown, says Russian war analyst and former loyalist Igor Strelkov.

The struggle for “political Olympus” has already begun in the Russian president’s circle, the former FSB colonel said.

Strelkov – key to Putin’s 2014 annexation of Crimea – is now an outspoken critic of the Kremlin’s war strategy in Ukraine.

An immediate mass mobilization of another half a million men is the only way for the Russian president to avoid defeat and humiliation in the war in Ukraine, he claims.

The battle at the top of the Kremlin revolves around Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Wagner’s private army. In the photo: Putin and Prigozhin

He claimed to be Putin’s friend Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of Wagner’s private army, is already recruiting allies from weakened Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

Others believe that the security allies of former FSB chief Nikolai Patrushev – secretary of the powerful Security Council – are more likely to pull the trigger on Putin to try to save the ruling elite if the war continues to go awry.

Some argue that the security bloc is marking his son, Agriculture Minister Dmitri Patrushev, as a coup to replace Putin if he is forced to leave the country due to war setbacks or ill health.

Strelkov sees Prigozhin, once Putin’s “boss” in charge of Kremlin banquets, as aiming to become a major political force himself, and there are signs that he is now getting prominent attention in state media.

There has been speculation that he wants to become defense secretary – or even president.

An immediate mass mobilization of half a million additional men is the only way for Putin to avoid defeat, Strelkov said. Pictured: Putin (right) and Sergey Kiriyenko (left), his first deputy chief of staff

“Evgeny Prigozhin’s group is against groups like Sergei Shoigu,” said Strelkov, the former defense minister of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic.

They had already started fighting. They don’t argue about the number of shells…

“Now let’s talk about what comes after Putin. Is this going to happen in a year or two? We don’t know.

“But in fact, as far as we can see, the battle for the political Olympus has begun between the factions around Putin.”

He added that Prigozhin wants to become a “political actor” and “clearly pump up his authority, also in public”.

Strelkov warned: “His recent media appearances have made it clear that he is now positioning himself not only as a wartime commander, but as a public and political figure…

“Prigozhin is against the group that Shoigu leads or to which he belongs. They had already started fighting. It was like a “feudal” fight. The military crisis has led to a power crisis,” he said.

The power crisis will in turn deepen the military crisis. And it will continue to spiral downward unless the urgent steps I mentioned earlier are taken.”

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu addressed an annual defense ministry meeting in Moscow last month

Putin during a meeting with Shoigula last year

He predicted another wave of mobilizations, adding: “They will be forced into it – a second and then maybe a third wave. To win in Ukraine, we will need about half a million additional soldiers.”

The general of the Telegram channel SVR claimed that Putin approved plans to call up two million for mobilization this year, some going to the front lines as cannon fodder and others working in military-related industries.

The first to be called are men who owe alimony to their ex-wives, it said.

Such a mass mobilization movement may come next month.

Strelkov has considerable support among army commanders and intelligence agencies below the highest level.

Despite harsh criticism of Putin and his top henchmen, he has so far escaped arrest.

Strelkov, 52, a tough war blogger, was one of three convicted by a Dutch court last year for shooting down a Malaysian Airlines passenger plane that killed all 298 people on board in 2014.

Despite this, he remains an important voice on warfare within Russia.