Vladimir Putin could be 'running out of missiles' as his generals are turning on each other to avoid being purged, it has been reported.
Just 10 weeks into the invasion and Putin's forces are said to be firing more missiles than they expected to because of how the war has dragged on.
Britain's Admiral Sir Tony Radakin told TalkTV : "He potentially has a problem because the rate of expenditure and the toughness of the fight is totally different to the one that he perceived on the 24th of February.
"I think there are several wars going on. There's a tactical, geographical war going on in Ukraine. There's a logistics war going on, in terms of how you maintain that rate of expenditure.
"We're talking severe impact on their armed forces. We’ve had 25% of their forces effectively being taken out - either through people being killed or through the damage to their battalion tactical groups.”
He added that Putin is under "incredible pressure" to deliver a victory for Russia.
He said: “I think what we're now seeing is incredible pressure - political pressure and military pressure - for a victory.
“I think there are several wars going on. There's a tactical, geographical war going on in Ukraine. There's a logistics war going on, in terms of how you maintain that rate of expenditure.
“We're talking severe impact on their armed forces. We’ve had 25% of their forces effectively being taken out - either through people being killed or through the damage to their battalion tactical groups.”
The admiral's comments come as Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said Putin's generals are "turning on themselves" to avoid becoming the scapegoat amid the failed operation.
During a visit to Poland, Mr Wallace said Putin's top men are blaming each other for the "disaster" and fear being purged in the event of a retreat, The Times reports.
Mr Wallace said: "They're all in fall guy territory. Be careful if you're out in sole command of something in the Russian system, because it may not be for long.
"There is a point of tension in the system. As much as they respect the former KGB man [Putin] for being a strong leader, the Russian general staff are going to be made scapegoats for his mess."
Putin has suffered heavy blows as he's lost at last nine generals so far.
Major-General Andrei Simonov, 55, was the ninth killed in battle in Izyum near Kharkiv, the country’s second city, according to Ukrainian sources.
He was Russia’s most respected electronics warfare commander, serving with the 2nd Combined Arms Army, and died in a devastating fightback by the Ukrainians against a Russian offensive.
More than 30 Russian armoured vehicles were destroyed in the attack along with around 100 Russian troops, unconfirmed reports suggest.
As well as losing nine generals, Putin's army has seen 36 colonels slain in little over two months of fighting in what military experts say is an astonishing rate of attrition.
