As a recently retired military officer I'm very suspicious of his recent outbursts. To the general global public it's absolutely believable because many want to believe it, especially in the media.

I want to believe it as well but my military instincts kick in because this is exactly what I would do if I was Putin. Create a "woe as me" narrative. Look everyone at all the disfunction in my operations. It's horrible I tell ya, horrible! Putin will never win in the media but he can sabotage it with stories of weakness like this.

Why hasn't Putin Reprimanded him yet or had him eliminated? He could easily have done it already. I don't know if this is the case but in a war where you can't win in the media it would be a smart move. One of the smartest.