Keir Starmer says Joe Biden’s Putin comments were ‘not helpful’
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President Biden was spotted carrying a cheat sheet relating to his unscripted remarks about Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, in an apparent attempt to avoid yet another gaffe. Mr Biden told reporters last week that Putin “cannot remain in power”, which was widely interpreted as the US advocating for a regime change. The White House swiftly backtracked his remarks, with an official saying his point was “that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbours or the region”. The cheat sheet, titled ‘Tough Putin Q&A talking points’ had prospective questions printed in bold about his remarks, as well as pointers for how to answer them.
As the Russian invasion grinds on, questions are being raised over whether the conflict could be ended by Putin’s removal from power.
However, security expert Jonathan Jackson told Express.co.uk that removing the former KGB officer would present significant challenges of its own.
Mr Jackson, a senior teaching fellow in policing and security at Birmingham City University, said: “The west must also recognise that the removal of Putin creates more challenges, with many of the country’s leadership indebted to him.
“A new government in the country would be difficult to form as it would require finding those willing to turn on him or who have not been complicit in the regime’s actions.
“It may simply have become a game of words and titles, with the puppets changing, but Putin still pulling the strings.”
Popular support for the Russian president on home soil is difficult to ascertain, largely due to the rapidly closing independent media environment, with much of the population unexposed to the brutal reality of Putin’s invasion.
However, Mr Jackson said: “What will be clear to many living in Russian major cities, will be the lack of western stores and the soaring prices of consumer products.
“The ruble is rapidly losing its value, forcing many to raise their prices.
“The absence of participation of Russia at sporting events is a clear sign to many that the state is becoming increasingly isolated from global activities.”
He added: “The information war will be as important as the physical one, and it is vital that western media outlets continue to provide an alternative reality to that being pumped out by Moscow.
“The pain of the sanctions is being paid by the Russian people but not by the well-insulated elites who are close to Putin.”
The ruble has started to recover, in part due to Putin demanding gas export payments in ruble, and reached a one-month high yesterday.
Nevertheless, the effects of the invasion are being felt on the ground in Russia, with protestors taking an unorthodox approach to making their voices heard.
Anti-war messages have started to appear on banknotes and rubles in either hand-written or stamped ink, with the trend circulating on platforms such as Twitter and Telegram.
With heavy custodial sentences in place for those who speak out against Putin’s regime, these anonymous acts of defiance are a way for protesters to get their voices heard without risking prosecution.
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According to Newsweek, one of the main instigators behind the latest protest movement is the Feminist Anti-War Resistance (FAS), who call on Russian citizens to peacefully demonstrate against the war.
English journalist Jonny Tickle tweeted a picture of two separate protest messages on banknotes.
The first one translated as: “No to war. They’re lying to us. Open your eyes.”
The second, meanwhile, was written in the style of a Moscow metro announcement.
It said: “Stand clear of the closing doors. The next station is North Korea.”
Public opposition on its own is unlikely to produce regime change in Russia, however.
High levels of protest combined with the crippling effects of sanctions could possibly impact Putin’s leadership credentials.
Dr David Bladgen, senior lecturer in international security at the University of Exeter, told Express.co.uk: “Even with the oligarchs, they don’t really have anywhere to go, so it’s not like they can easily withdraw support from the Putin regime because he is kind of their protector and their basis of wealth and privilege in a way.
“But at some point you could see some part of the military or the intelligence service that tries to get rid of him because they conclude that it’s getting too disastrous for things that they care about.”
The already significant military losses in Ukraine could result in some disgruntled officials, which might begin to build a degree of support for a coup.
However, such processes would take a significant amount of time to emerge, with only the smallest of cracks emerging so far.
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