A infamous former colonel of Russia’s GRU spy company has blamed Vladimir Putin for battle failures in Ukraine as he was fined for “discrediting” the military.
Vladimir Kvachkov complained in a Moscow courtroom on Tuesday that neither the Russian president nor Sergei Shoigu, the nation’s defence minister, or Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the overall employees, have been “able to waging a battle” in Ukraine.
His outburst got here because the courtroom convicted him of “discrediting the armed forces” and fined him 40,000 roubles (£320) over three social media posts that includes unspecified criticism of the “particular navy operation in Ukraine and the Russian management”.
The ruling marked the newest high-profile public clampdown by the Kremlin on nationalist critics who’ve urged Putin to declare “all-out battle” on Ukraine.
However Kvachkov, 75, informed the courtroom that the costs in opposition to him made no sense, arguing it was “Putin, Shoigu and Gerasimov who’re discrediting the Russian armed forces”.
He additionally denied any involvement with content material on Odnoklassniki, the Russian social-media outlet, which had shared his three crucial posts.
Kvachkov had informed a reporter previous to the listening to that it was “Putin and his crew who’re responsible”.
If convicted once more on the identical cost, he’ll face a jail sentence.