Vladimir Putin remains an “extremely dangerous figure” and could be a threat for “several more years” as the US prepares to send Ukraine devastating long-range missiles dubbed the “wonder weapon”.
The war-torn country could receive a clutch of long-range US-produced cluster munition rockets as soon as next week as Russia suffers a series of huge setbacks on the front line, with tens of thousands of troops killed on the battlefield and expensive weaponry destroyed as supplies run painfully low.
But despite his struggles and reports of a growing backlash from within the Kremlin over his failing war plan, one Washington-based foreign policy expert has sent a stark warning to the rest of the world.
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Nile Gardiner told Daily Express US: “Putin has been weakened somewhat in recent months by the setbacks in Ukraine and the attempted coup by the Wagner Group.
“But regardless of those issues, he is still an extraordinarily dangerous figure and we should never underestimate him.
“I suspect we will have to face the threat from Putin for several more years, at least, as long as he is alive. We must not underestimate what we are dealing with in terms of the Putin regime.
“Quite often, wounded animals are more dangerous, and Putin fits that dynamic.”
The supply of the weapon is a massive win for Ukraine and its president Volodymyr Zelensky, who have long pleaded for the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS.
This would give their troops the ability to strike targets from as far away as 180 miles, hitting supply lines, railways, and command and control locations behind the Russian front lines.
Dan Rice, a former US Army officer who served as a special adviser to Ukrainian commander-in-chief General Valery Zaluzhnyi, said the move to supply Ukraine with the devastating weapon will be a “game-changer”.
He told Newsweek: “Approval is likely this week on HIMARS cluster rockets,” citing conversations with “the American decision-makers and the Americans who have to implement getting them to Ukraine”.
The current president of the American University Kyiv added: “Getting approval this week for HIMARS DPICM will be a game changer.
“And with no training and change needed, it will likely be on the battlefield next week, making a huge difference. When those rockets launch, they break the sound barrier. To me, that’s the sound of freedom.”
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