Vladimir Putin could face the threat of being toppled by his own officers and generals, a journalist has claimed.
Andrei Soldatov, a leading Russian investigative journalist, told Channel 4 News that "everything now seems to be possible" when asked if the Kremlin leader, a former FSB agent himself, could be deposed by his own men.
Mr Soldatov said last week that the furious Russian president had put the head of the FSB’s foreign service under house arrest.
In the wake of the invasion, there have been reports that Putin was told by the FSB security service, the successor to the KGB, that Ukraine would capitulate easily and give up.
Matt Frei of Channel 4 News asked Mr Soldatov: “Is it possible that some senior generals, especially the ones who are on the front here, perhaps together with some disgruntled officers in the FSB, could turn against Putin to try and dislodge him?”
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In response he said: "Obviously, everything now seems to be possible, but we need to remember that Putin is a trained KGB officer.
"He is well aware of risks to his personal security and safety and he has not one but two security services.
"And he sometimes claims that actually he’s aware of 12 or 13 attempts on his life. So I think he would take precautions and would be ready for that."
Russia’s internal strife follows on from claims from Oleksiy Danilov, head of Ukraine’s security council, that “around eight” Russian commanders have been sacked since the invasion was launched on February 24.
On top of that, three generals have been killed by Ukrainian forces in the fighting.
Mr Soldatov added: "Putin has become very unhappy with the military intelligence coming from Ukraine.
"It looks like it has dawned on Putin that there is no credible opposition in Ukraine to the Kyiv government. He cannot rely on anyone in Ukraine."
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He added that military officials on the ground in Ukraine were too afraid to relay the truth of the stuttering invasion to Putin.
He continued: "He believes he is the most informed politician in the world.
"He loves to boast of his knowledge of geopolitics. So it is difficult to tell him something he doesn't want to hear.
"We do not have anyone on the ground in Ukraine in charge, any general.
"We only have people in Moscow talking about how the war should be conducted. The entire chain of command is getting really weird."
The remarks echo comments made by Russia’s first post-Soviet foreign minister Andrei Kozyrev, who told The Times this week that the Russian leader was risking a Kremlin coup.
He said: "With Putin, I very much expect there to be resistance growing and discontent growing that will be resolved one way or another."
One way resistance to Putin’s invasion has been manifesting is in the protests of Russian civilians.
More than 37 cities across Russia saw protests for the third weekend in a row and more than 14,200 people have been arrested for their part in anti-war protests.
Although one woman was filmed being arrested for holding a blank sign, and another for holding a sign that read “two words”.
