Putin Faces Political Threat from New Group of 'Angry Patriots'

A social movement created by military blogger Igor Girkin is looking to increase pressure on Russia's President Vladimir Putin and the Russian defense establishment, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank has said.

Girkin, also known as Igor Strelkov, is a Russian nationalist and was prominent in the war in the Donbas region of Ukraine in 2014. He has been vocal in his criticism of Putin's commanders and the president himself over how Moscow is fighting the war in Ukraine.

He founded the Club of Angry Patriots with Russian political figure Pavel Gubarev and political activist Vladimir Kucherenko, also known as Maxim Kalashnikov, in April.

The group has expressed concern that Russia will lose in Ukraine, which could lead to a pro-Western coup and a Russian civil war unless there is an improvement in Moscow's efforts on the front line.

On Sunday, the group announced it would form regional branches and is calling for politicians, public-opinion leaders and heads of Russian organizations to take part. It is also planning a press conference in Moscow in June in which it will "address how Russia can win the war in Ukraine," the think tank said.

The group "is continuing efforts to expand its presence and influence public discourse," the ISW said in its update on Sunday. Last week, Girkin predicted that Ukraine would invade regions of Russia that border Ukraine, such as Belgorod, Kursk and Bryansk.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.

Another critic of Putin's handling of the war, Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, reportedly offered to reveal Russian troop locations in exchange for Ukrainian forces withdrawing from around the city of Bakhmut.

The Washington Post cited leaked U.S. intelligence documents which said that the Wagner founder made the offer following increased casualty numbers among his mercenaries fighting to take the Donetsk town.

Two anonymous Ukrainian officials told the newspaper that Prigozhin had been in contact "several times" with Ukraine's Intelligence Directorate, but his offer was rejected.

Prigozhin and Girkin are united in their criticism of how Russia is conducting the war, but the pair have also been engaged in a feud. Girkin accused the Wagner chief of prioritizing his political ambitions, which he said were driven by "psychopathy."

Girkin has asked why Russian authorities had not arrested Prigozhin for his calls to freeze the war at the front lines.

The Wagner chief has been equally disparaging. In a response on Telegram, he condemned Girkin for criticizing Russia's military and not being willing to take a more direct role in the war.