General Baluevsky, who was chief of the General Staff from 2004 to 2008, accused Putin of not reacting to specific Ukrainian attacks, such as the drone attack on the Kremlin’s Senate building in 2023 or on Russian AWACS early warning aircraft: “We talked about red lines, but how many more red lines can be crossed? I don’t know how you felt when a Ukrainian drone landed on the dome of the building where the Supreme Commander finds,” he said.
“Not to mention the drone attacks on our early warning aircraft. When those drones hit our facilities, I kept waiting and wondering… well, when are we going to respond,” the general added.
This rare public criticism from a senior military veteran comes at a time when Russia’s military efforts are showing signs of faltering. Ukrainian forces have been able to halt the frontline advance and penetrate deeper and deeper into Russian territory with increasing frequency and force. Putin has been criticized by pro-war bloggers and influencers before.
In his address, Baluevsky asked the question: “When will we start to fight seriously? Either Russia will be strong or there will be no Russia at all.” He also warned of the West’s intentions.
Baluevsky, who was previously known for advocating pre-emptive nuclear strikes in the event of an existential threat to Russia, ended his speech with a series of rhetorical questions about future strategy.
“What should we do? What should we do in this situation? Should we continue Special Operations for a few more years as a war of attrition?” he asked.
“And who exactly do we intend to exhaust? All of Europe? All of NATO, along with Japan and all those who have joined them? And what about ourselves?” he said.
