British military commander Admiral Tony Radakin on Sunday denied rumors about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s health or the possibility of his assassination.
“I think some of the ideas that he (Putin) is ill or that he’s going to end up murdering me, I think that’s wishful thinking,” BBC M said on Friday. Radakin made the announcement in an interview on Sunday.
Rumors about the health of Vladimir Putin, who turned 70 in October, are unverifiable.
“As military experts, we see a relatively stable regime in Russia, President Putin has been able to suppress all opposition…and no one at the top has the motivation to challenge him,” he argued.
According to him, the “challenge posed by Russia in terms of threat will last for decades” and the Prime Minister succeeding Boris Johnson, who resigned, should be aware that Russia is a “huge threat”. The world is England.
Mr Radakin told the BBC he was “absolutely” confident the Ukrainian army would win the war, which was sparked by Russia’s invasion in February.
According to British military estimates, Russia “has lost more than 30% of its ground combat effectiveness.”
“50,000 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded in the conflict, nearly 1,700 Russian tanks were destroyed, and nearly 4,000 Russian armored vehicles were destroyed,” Radakin said.
The situation in Ukraine will dominate the military accounts of the incoming prime minister, who will replace Boris Johnson in September. “Then we must remind the prime minister of the extraordinary responsibility he has with Britain as a nuclear power.”
Mr Radakin was also asked about the BBC inquiry which revealed this week that British special forces Special Air Service (SAS) commandos killed at least 54 people in Afghanistan under suspicious circumstances, facts covered up by their superiors.
Military police have already established that “it didn’t happen”, but they will re-examine the matter if new concrete evidence comes to light, Mr Radakin cleared.
