Putin's dictatorship will end in disaster, says former Russian minister

Russia's former foreign minister has dismissed the chances of nuclear war, declaring the prospect an "empty threat" from Vladimir Putin.

Andrei Kozyrev, who served under Putin's predecessor Boris Yeltsin, also suggested the Putin era will soon end in "disaster" amid the Ukraine crisis.

Putin ramped up his aggression three weeks ago when he put Russia's nuclear forces on high alert following the West's so-called "unfriendly" response following his invasion.

At the very least, it raised the prospect that he was considering the use of a nuclear weapon, though experts dismissed this as rhetoric.

And Kozyrev, speaking to The Economic Asks podcast, said he agreed.

"No it's just a blackmail," he said of the nuclear threat. Russia is believed to have 4,477 nuclear warheads. It is one of nine countries which has nuclear weapon capacities. Of the other eight, three are Nato allies - the US, France and the UK - among which there are 5,943 nuclear warheads.

Kozyrev continued: "Those forces which he allegedly ordered... sources are openly saying they don't see anything like that. It's an empty threat but he plays this game.

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"Those strategic weapons that he ordered on alert [are] suicidal weapons because if he sends a missile to Europe, Nato or the United States, he gets two back and there is no survival for anyone."

Asked how Putin's dictatorship ends, Kozyrev stated: "In disaster. It's already disaster but he just does not realise that."

He added a coup is possible, saying it is "very much in Russian tradition".

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Putin's invasion has been hampered by slow progress, with fierce Ukrainian resistance and logistical issues among Russian forces. For example, it has been reported 230 Russian tanks have been lost in the war, which if correct would be the highest experienced by an army since the Second World War.

More pertinently, his war has caused a humanitarian disaster, with hundreds of civilian deaths and millions of people displaced from their homes.

Kozyrev added he expects Putin to attempt "negotiating a way out" if it becomes clear he can't win and starts to face growing resistance among Russians.