What Russian Military Disloyalty Means for the War in Ukraine
In analysis for Political Violence At A Glance, an IGCC-supported blog dedicated to political violence and its alternatives, Jaclyn Johnson, Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Kentucky, analyzes what defection from the Russian military means for the conflict in Ukraine.
Since the invasion of Ukraine, there have been many flashpoints of Russian military disloyalty. In one of the more dramatic displays, Russian Colonel Yuri Medvedev was run over by a tank and killed at the hands of his own brigade. Other examples include intercepted phone calls with Russian soldiers expressing grievances, complaining of frostbite and a lack of food.
The quagmire that the Russian military now finds itself in is a far cry from the assertive dominance over Ukraine that many observers expected. Putin, being a forward-thinking, regime-securing strategist, has taken serious measures to ensure that his top generals cannot stage a military coup against him. Given these measures to secure power, consensus is forming that it is unlikely that Putin will be ousted at the hands of his own military in the immediate future.
However, coups are not the only meaningful form of military rebellion.
Read the full blog post at Political Violence At A Glance.