Former NATO commander Admiral James Stavridis predicted Saturday that Russian President Vladimir Putin will end up like Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia.
Earlier this month, Russian media reported that Putin, who has been in power for over two decades either as president or prime minister, will run for president again as an independent candidate. The position holds a six-year term. The news of the Russian leader's candidacy comes as Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, approaches its second year.
On Friday, Russian state media, Sputnik, quoted Stavridis to show "how NATO recognized Russia's military strength at the end of 2023" in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
The Russian media quoted Stavridis as saying, "'Putin's economy is growing ... And his armies ... have stiffened into capable defenders behind their belts of mines, barriers and tanks — all protected by air power Ukraine cannot match.'"
Stavridis, a retired U.S. Navy admiral who served as supreme allied commander of NATO from 2009 to 2013, responded to Sputnik on Saturday on X and wrote, "You failed to remind your followers I've also said this year that: Putin murdered [Yevgeny] Prigozhin, that Putin is the greatest salesman for NATO membership ever, and that he thinks he is Stalin but will end up like Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia."
Nicholas Alexandrovich Romanov, or Nicholas II, was abdicated in 1917 after a 23-year autocratic rule. Nicholas II and his family were executed by firing squad in 1918.
"Putin continues to hold unitary power in Russia, but certainly the rumblings of discontent are evident—from the Prigozhin rebellion to the hundreds of thousands of young military age males voting with their feet and departing their native land," Stavridis told Newsweek via email on Sunday.
"Over time, I'd say the odds are higher of Putin ending up being overthrown like Nicolas II than they are of him meeting a natural demise like Stalin. He needs to negotiate a conclusion to his misadventure in Ukraine that allows him to declare victory and hold onto Crimea and a land bridge to Russia, or the odds against him will inexorably go up. In that sense, he's already lost the war."
Newsweek reached out to the Russian government via online form for comment.
As Ukraine braces for another harsh winter of fighting, Stavridis has urged the United States to provide more aid to the Eastern European country. The U.S. has been Ukraine's second-largest backer since the start of the war, following the European Union (EU).
However, Republicans in Congress have grown weary of giving money to a foreign ally as the U.S. struggles at home to secure the U.S.-Mexico border against illegal migrant crossings.
Then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, told reporters in September, "If they want to focus on Ukraine and not focus on the southern border, I think [Democrats'] priorities are backwards."
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican who has been a vocal advocate for tougher immigration policies wrote on X in November, "The Ukraine scam is up. If our Republican majority in Congress funds Joe Biden's war against Russia on behalf of Ukraine (because he's a puppet on strings) then Republicans are tools of the foreign war loving deep state. DEFEND AMERICA FIRST!!!"
Speaking to John Catsimatidis on his radio show The Cats Roundtable, Stavridis said on Sunday, "It's a very dangerous situation and here, the real action is actually not in Kyiv. The real action is in Washington. We've got to provide the military support to Ukraine. Their cause is just. We can afford to do this, and we should. So I'm worried about the war in Ukraine only if the U.S. and our European allies fail to live up to the commitment we've made to support Ukraine."
President Joe Biden requested $61 billion in Ukrainian aid in October, but Congress has yet to approve the funding. In addition, the Pentagon warned Congress this week that it is about to run out of money for Ukraine.
The Defense Department (DOD) is spending its last $1.07 billion to buy new weapons for Ukraine to replenish U.S. stocks, Pentagon Comptroller Mike McCord told congressional leaders in a letter Monday.
"Once these funds are obligated, the Department will have exhausted the funding available to us for security assistance to Ukraine," McCord wrote in the letter, which was seen by Newsweek.
Update 12/24/23, 3:12 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Stavridis.
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