Putin is “terribly scared” and “knows he’s in trouble” after years of conflict with Ukraine left him “in such a psychological state that he clings to any chance of victory,” former FSB chief says .

Vladimir Putin is “terrified” as he marks the first anniversary of his invasion of Ukraine, a former Russian intelligence general says.

According to the former head of the FSB’s Moscow branch, the Russian dictator seriously misinterpreted the West’s determination to oppose him and failed to recognize his military’s incompetence.

“Putin perfectly understands the mood of the people who lost everything because of him,” said retired general Yevgeni Savostjanov. “He understands that anger can find an outlet, so he keeps it away.

Putin is very scared now. He understands he is in trouble,” he said.

Putin’s problems were self-inflicted by waging war, he added. “He lived happily [yet] with his own hands he took everything and destroyed it. Great story.’ Now he is “in such a mental state that he risks every chance to win”.

Yesterday, Leaked documents suggest that the FSB misled Putin about his chances of victoryHe told the despot that his troops would take Kiev in just three days and that Ukrainians would welcome Russian soldiers with open arms.

365 Days of Putin’s Bloodshed: A Comprehensive Look at How the War Unfolded, How Close We Are to WW3, and All the Key Aspects of the Conflict

Today, however, a year has passed since Putin launched the invasion. Russian troops are pinned down in the East and Volodymyr Zelenskyy remains president.

And while Russia has so far managed to mitigate the impact of Western sanctions, Savostyanov said, thanks to Putin and his invasion of Ukraine – the Russian people “are going to live very badly anyway – it’s already inevitable”.

He predicts an attempt by Putin and his cronies to hand the presidency to a less toxic ally in the West, but a figure that the 70-year-old Putin’s circle will keep in the hope of preventing any kind of domestic revolution .

He suspects that that figure – Minister of Agriculture Dmitri Patrushev (45), son of Putin’s stubborn national security adviser Nikolai Patrushev (71) – will be one of the architects of Ukraine’s devastating war.

“Parushev’s son was mentioned as a possible successor,” says Savostyanov (70), also a former deputy head of the Kremlin government who predicted that Putin would unexpectedly come to power before the year 2000.

Dmitri Patrushev was seen as a “suitable figure” who received “strong support” to bring Russia under control. And “in the eyes of the West, he is not too vilified”, since he played no significant role in the war. It is worth noting that Putin praised Dmitri Patrushev in his state of the nation address this week.

Nevertheless, there is “no reason for optimism” due to the “absurdity” of the crisis that Putin has caused, Saostyanov told the republic in sharp criticism of Putin.

“Russia is slipping into the role of leader in the third world, where we are only needed as long as we can give money,” he said.

“The time will come and [in Russia] We will see empty shelves, shortages of goods, impoverishment of the people and technological backwardness in all areas.

As of Friday, a year has passed since Putin launched the invasion. Russian troops are pinned down in the East and Volodymyr Zelenskyy remains president. Pictured: Ukrainian troops drive a tank February 19 near the town of Bakhmut – the center of heavy fighting in recent months

A Ukrainian squadron fires one of four rockets from its 122 mm BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher at a Russian infantry position on February 20.

“One of Putin’s mistakes is that at the beginning of last summer he did not catch the moment when the West stopped fearing him and stopped retreating.

The first mistake is to fight the West. The second is to believe that they were waiting for us in Ukraine with flowers and hugs.

“Corrupt propagandists and those who mastered the big money allocated for the creation of the “fifth column” in Ukraine – this is his fault.

“The third is that, as it turns out, he didn’t know how his own army worked. And that is the most wonderful thing. The army was built up all these years in the expectation that it would not be necessary to fight in the West,” said Savostyanov.

“The calculation was that Europe is in a hopeless energy situation.

“It can go as it wants, but it can’t do without Russia, so it has to gobble up what’s on the table again.”

Putin expected the West to swallow his hoped-for “quick victory” in Ukraine, but he was wrong, just as he failed to understand his military’s incompetence in a “tragedy of errors.” Russia has suffered several defeats in the past year, as well as a series of devastating attacks at the Moscow River Cruiser and the Kerch Bridge.

“When we see how Russia pushes private military companies, in addition to being occupied by an armed criminal element, it denies even the idea of ​​its own state,” said the former FSB chief.

Savostyanov predicts that Russia now faces a bleak future. If Putin succeeds in Ukraine in any way, he will be repressive.

His angry inner circle “who lost everything he had gathered in 20 years” must be eliminated.

‘Like the [war] failed, the question arises – either tighten the screws hard to keep order in the country – or chaos. Nothing good can be expected under the conditions of sanctions and restrictions.’

Despite Putin’s desperation, Savostyanov considered it unlikely that Putin would use his nuclear arsenal. “I cannot say more than 1 percent that Putin will decide to carry out the nuclear threat,” he said.

“The fundamental difference is that I predicted who would replace [Boris] Yeltsin [is that the] The procedure was obvious. To be honest, the procedure for replacing Putin is not obvious. But I understand one thing. In the foreground there must be a person who controls the situation.

“There will be too many factors that can increase destabilization – from the [tanking] economy to separatist moods in the regions.’

Pictured: Retired general Yevgeny Savostyanov, who said Putin was “terribly afraid” of his position amid his failed invasion of Ukraine

This could lead to escape attempts by some regions, he said.

“If the federal budget is cut, the subsidies in the regions will be cut accordingly … and they will say: ‘Why do we need Moscow?’

He predicted an attempt to bring to power a figure who “will be able to control the situation and, on the other hand, will be able to carry out reforms”.

It could be Dmitri Patrushev, who could fulfill this role through his father, secretary of the Kremlin Security Council and former head of the FSB.