Former NATO Commander reminds Russia of his stark prediction

Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Admiral James Stavridis predicted that Vladimir Putin would be subject to the same fate as former Russia’s Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia, in an online scrap with Russian media. 

An online argument between Stavridis and the Russian news media outlet Sputnik was triggered when Sputnik published a post on Twitter quoting top officials associated with the alliance allegedly recognizing Russia’s military strength. 

Among those quoted by Sputnik were the current Secretary General of the alliance Jens Stoltenberg, as well as the Commander of NATO’s Multinational Corps Northeast, LTG Jürgen-Joachim von Sandrart and Admiral James Stavridis. 

The quotes of each leader appeared to cast Russia in a positive light with Sotltenberg’s comments focused on the tough defenses Moscow prepared against Ukraine's offensive while Von Sandrart’s quote noted Russia’s desire to win the conflict. 

“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,” read the quote from Stavridis posted by Sputnik. 

The retired American admiral and former NATO commander didn’t take too kindly to the post Sputnik published and responded to the Russian news outlet, informing its readers that the media agency that it forgot to publish another key quote. 

Stavridis wrote: “You failed to remind your followers I've also said this year that: Putin murdered 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.”

While it may not seem like much, the last part of the retired admiral's message is a very important statement since Nicholas II was overthrown and abducted during the Russian Revolution. He was ultimately murdered along with his entire family in 1918. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Boasson and Eggler St. Petersburg Nevsky 24

Stavridis predicted that Putin would face the same fate as Nicholas II in February 2023 while discussing the casualty rate Russia was suffering along the frontlines of the war at that time, specifically around the cities of Bakhmut and Vuhledar. 

“He thinks he's Stalin conducting World War II. He's going to end up like Nicholas II, the last tsar of the Russians, because he is running out of these troops,” Stavridis explained to MSNBC’s Ali Veshi according to a video clip of the conversation. 

Newsweek spoke with Stavridis via an email about his most recent comments online and the retired admiral provided more context on the serious situation he believes Putin will face as the war against Ukraine continues.

"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 wrote. 

"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,” the retired admiral went on to explain before providing the only way Putin could avoid that fate. 

Stavridis told Newsweek that Putin needed to negotiate an end to the conflict in Ukraine that would allow him to declare victory and hold onto the territory he captured as well as the land annexed in the Crimean Peninsula. 

If Putin is unable to end the war on the terms Stavridis outlined, then the retired admiral noted that “the odds against him will inexorably go up,” adding in that sense, Putin had “already lost the war." 

However, Ukrainian officials are unlikely to negotiate any peace that trades the country’s land in exchange for an end to the war. President Volodymyr Zelensky has proposed a ten-point peace plan that includes the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity. 

When asked in September during an interview with CBS News if he would trade land for peace, Zelesnky said: “No. This is our territory.” Only time will tell if his words prove true, just as it will reveal if Admiral Stavridis' prediction about Putin was correct.