Russian Generals Slam Putin's 'Senseless' Ukraine Invasion Plans

Vladimir Putin’s plans to invade Ukraine could be in tatters, after a group of senior Russian military officers savaged his policies towards Kiev. In a stunning critique, the officers described Mr Putin's threats to invade Ukraine as "criminal," "dangerous" and "senseless," John Varga reported for UK’s Daily Express.

Photo Insert: Russian President Vladimir Putin

The letter was written by the so-called All-Russian Officers' Assembly and was published on their website at the end of January. Addressed to the "President and Citizens of the Russian Federation," the authors urged fellow military colleagues and ordinary people to oppose Putin's drive to war.

"We are officers of Russia, we demand to abandon the criminal policy of provoking a war in which the Russian Federation will find itself alone against the united forces of the West," they wrote.

"We appeal to all retired military personnel, citizens of Russia with a recommendation to be vigilant, organized, support the demands of the Council of the All-Russian Officers' Assembly, actively oppose propaganda and unleashing a war, and prevent an internal civil conflict with the use of military force," the letter added.

The organization is headed by the retired General-Colonel Leonid Ivashov, who was a leading military hardliner back in the 1990s. The 78-year-old was one of the instigators behind the notorious standoff at Pristina Airport during the Kosovo War in 1999.

At the time Russian troops tried to stop NATO peacekeepers from entering Kosovo. The General-Colonel was sent into retirement by Mr. Putin in 2001 at the early age of 57.

The retired military officer founded his All-Russian Officers’ Assembly in 2003 and is certainly no friend of NATO or the West.

The group's ideology is an eclectic mix of Soviet nostalgia, religious orthodoxy, and patriotic conservatism - elements that should endear the members of the Putin regime. However, they have consistently criticized the Russian tyrant for being corrupt and have repeatedly called for his removal.

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