Putin marks 70th birthday with little public fuss; Lyman mass grave reportedly holds 180 bodies

Blunt criticism of Russian Army signals new challenge for Putin

Russia’s foundering invasion of Ukraine has produced an extraordinary barrage of criticism from supporters of the war in recent days, directed primarily at the leadership of the Russian military. The outpouring of discontent is creating a new challenge to President Vladimir Putin, who, after cracking down on Russia’s liberal opposition, now faces growing dissent in his own camp.

Russian recruits take a train at a railway station in Prudboi, Volgograd region of Russia, Sept. 29, 2022. (AP)

The latest salvo came Thursday when a Russian-installed official in an occupied region of Ukraine belittled the Kremlin’s defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, a close associate of Putin. The official, Kirill Stremousov, said Shoigu should consider killing himself because of his army’s failures in Ukraine.

“Many people are saying that as an officer, the defense minister could simply shoot himself for being the one who let things get to this state,” said Stremousov, Russia’s “deputy governor” of the Kherson region of southern Ukraine.

It was a strikingly blunt and public rebuke, and one that built on growing frustration with the war effort. Last month, it was largely pro-Russian bloggers who were voicing anger over the failings that led to the Russian army’s being routed in northeastern Ukraine. But after Russian troops were forced to retreat in two other sections of the front line in the past week, prominent officials have increasingly joined the chorus. (Read more)