A former Vladimir Putin-loyal separatist commander has branded the Kremlin leader a “clown” who has been outplayed in the war by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Igor Girkin - an intelligence and army veteran who was central to Vladimir Putin ’s seizure of Crimea and parts of the Donbas in 2014 - has mocked the Russian ruler’s performance.
Zelensky was often labelled a "clown" because he was a TV comedian before being elected president, he said.
“But then came the war,” said Girkin, also known by his nom de guerre Igor Strelkov.
Unlike Putin, Zelensky “didn’t run away” or “hide in a bunker” during the war, he alleged.
The Ukrainian leader had “announced, launched and conducted a general mobilisation” of his country’s military-age men and “achieved massive deliveries of weapons from NATO”.
He had “fooled the Kremlin”.
Underdog Zelensky had “firmly and confidently announced the goals of the war and just as firmly the conditions for negotiations on a truce”, he said.
In a biting critique of Putin, he said: “And what do we have on our side?
“We have at the end of the sixth month of the war - not to mention the eight previous years - gilded roosters who are still playing tank biathlons and holding festivals of military bands.
“So the question is: ‘Who is the clown here?’”
Girkin is part of a hardline group exasperated at the failure of Putin and his defence minister Sergei Shoigu to crush Ukraine.
His admiration for Zelensky’s role as a commander in chief comes even though he considers him “a rare scum - and my foot would not flinch to knock out a stool from under him", he said.
Girkin was key to Putin’s annexation of Crimea and establishing the puppet Donetsk People’s Republic eight years ago, but has since become an arch-critic of the current campaign in Ukraine.
He has previously alleged Putin in “clueless” on Russia ’s frontline failings and suggested that “execution by shooting” would be too good a punishment for Shoigu.
Unlike many Russians who are prosecuted for criticising conduct of the war, until now Girkin has been allowed to get away with attacks.
He is seen as voicing the views of certain Putin defence and security commanders.
He has mocked Shoigu for holding tank biathlon games after his forces suffered heavy losses.
“All the deadlines for delivering new weapons to the troops have failed,” he said recently.
Shoigu’s commanders “demonstrate an amazing level of military incompetence”.
Other hardliners - notably RT propaganda chief Margarita Simonyan - have called for massive strikes on Kyiv to hit Zelensky’s “decision-making centres”.
