{"id":1732916,"date":"2022-11-10T06:30:28","date_gmt":"2022-11-10T11:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1732916"},"modified":"2022-11-10T07:32:52","modified_gmt":"2022-11-10T12:32:52","slug":"russias-kherson-defeat-the-end-of-putins-regime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/russias-kherson-defeat-the-end-of-putins-regime\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia\u2019s Kherson Defeat: The End of Putin\u2019s Regime?"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frussias-kherson-defeat-the-end-of-putins-regime%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1732916&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/HIMARS.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>General Sergei Surovikin, the commander of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine, has just <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/world\/russia-ukraine-war-kherson-retreat-kirill-stremousov-rcna56362\">announced<\/a> that Russia is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2022\/11\/09\/1135513599\/russia-withdraws-kherson-ukraine\">retreating<\/a> to the left bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson province. If this actually happens, the Russians will have also abandoned the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/europe\/russia-orders-pullout-west-bank-dnipro-kherson-2022-11-09\/\">provincial capital<\/a> of Kherson, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/11\/putins-nightmare-is-the-russian-military-slowly-giving-up-in-kherson\/\">city<\/a> of 284,000 that they\u2019ve <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/10\/ukraines-slow-death-military-strategy-to-beat-russia-in-kherson\/\">occupied<\/a> since the early days of the war.\n<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what the official Russian propaganda outlet RIA Novosti <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pravda.com.ua\/eng\/news\/2022\/11\/9\/7375646\/\">had to say<\/a>: \u201cIt is appropriate to organize defense along the barrier border of the Dnipro River, on its left bank\u2026. The decision to defend the left bank of the Dnipro is not an easy one. At the same time, we will save the lives of our military and the combat capability of the troops\u2026. The maneuver of the troops will be carried out as soon as possible. The troops will occupy the prepared defensive positions on the left bank of the Dnipro.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>Surovikin may be bluffing or setting a trap, but if he isn\u2019t, the Russian <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/10\/putins-next-ukraine-disaster-is-russia-facing-total-defeat-in-kherson\/\">retreat<\/a> would be of potentially <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/11\/07\/world\/europe\/kherson-russia-ukraine-war.html\">earth-shattering importance<\/a> for several reasons.\n<\/p>\n<p>First, thus far the Ukrainians have liberated small cities, towns, and villages. Freeing a larger city such as Kherson from the Russian occupying forces would be a major success that could herald a future cascade of liberated urban areas. And that would be the beginning of the war\u2019s end and, possibly, the Russian military as an effective fighting force. We may expect Russian soldiers to engage in even more insubordination and desertion. Morale will plummet. Finger-pointing and squabbling among the officers will increase. After all, who in his right mind wants to serve in or take responsibility for an army that is getting battered and is retreating with its tail between its legs?<\/p>\n<p>Second, Kherson\u2019s liberation would be an enormous slap in Putin\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/09\/is-a-coup-against-vladimir-putin-possible\/\">face<\/a>, one that some analysts have suggested he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/10\/putin-must-go-now-is-the-time-for-regime-change-in-russia\/\">might not survive<\/a>. True or not, the retreat would certainly undermine Putin\u2019s popularity with the adoring Russian masses, who believe he\u2019s infallible, and his legitimacy with political and economic elites, who will have still more proof of his incompetence. A major defeat such as Kherson could easily create the conditions under which coups ordinarily take place. Even if he survives this disaster, Putin will be a far weaker president. And that, in turn, means that the power struggle among competing successors and their supporters is likely to become more vicious. Regardless of its denouement, policymaking will become less effective and conducting the war will become more difficult. Can Putin\u2019s fascist regime survive for long if he is weakened? Can the Russian Federation survive if the regime is weakened? Western policymakers should be asking these questions.\n<\/p>\n<p>Third, the liberation of Kherson will be an enormous shot in the respective arms of Ukrainian President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/09\/give-ukraines-volodymyr-zelensky-the-nobel-peace-prize\/\">Volodymyr Zelensky<\/a>, the Ukrainian armed forces and their commanding general staff, and the Ukrainian population, which is being deprived of heat and light by Russian drones and missiles. Unless the Ukrainians suddenly get cocky, they will be able to parlay this momentum into further victories on the battlefront. The citizenry\u2019s spirit will be lifted, and their determination to survive the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/11\/a-warning-to-biden-europe-is-headed-for-energy-chaos-this-winter\/\">cold winter<\/a> ahead will be enhanced. Zelensky\u2019s stature in the world will grow even more, with the upshot being that his ability to persuade Ukraine\u2019s allies that they should back a winner will also grow. Western countries heretofore reluctant to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/07\/israel-wont-send-ukraine-weapons-the-reason-syria\/\">support<\/a> Ukraine as much as it needs will get on the pro-Ukraine bandwagon, lest they wind up on the wrong side of history.<\/p>\n<p>In sum, the writing is on the wall for Putin, his regime, and Russia.\n<\/p>\n<p><em>A 19FortyFive Contributing Editor,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newark.rutgers.edu\/about-us\/have-you-met-rutgers-newark\/alexander-motyl\">Dr. Alexander Motyl<\/a> is a professor of political science at Rutgers-Newark. A specialist on Ukraine, Russia, and the USSR, and on nationalism, revolutions, empires, and theory, he is the author of 10 books of nonfiction, including Pidsumky imperii (2009); Puti imperii (2004); Imperial Ends: The Decay, Collapse, and Revival of Empires (2001); Revolutions, Nations, Empires: Conceptual Limits and Theoretical Possibilities (1999); Dilemmas of Independence: Ukraine after Totalitarianism (1993); and The Turn to the Right: The Ideological Origins and Development of Ukrainian Nationalism, 1919\u20131929 (1980); the editor of 15 volumes, including The Encyclopedia of Nationalism (2000) and The Holodomor Reader (2012); and a contributor of dozens of articles to academic and policy journals, newspaper op-ed pages, and magazines. He also has a weekly blog, \u201cUkraine\u2019s Orange Blues.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em><span>Want more 19FortyFive military, politics, and economics analysis from the best experts on Earth? Follow us on<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMNX7nwsw4oW4Aw?ceid=US:en&#038;oc=3\"><span> Google News<\/span><\/a><span>,<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/flipboard.com\/@19FortyFive\"><span> Flipboard<\/span><\/a><span>,<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCMOn5KL4BMFKilOwiB1S1gw\/featured\"><span> YouTube<\/span><\/a><span>,<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/19FortyFive\/\"><span> Facebook<\/span><\/a><span>,<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/19_forty_five\"><span> Twitter<\/span><\/a><span>, and<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/19fortyfive\"><span> Linkedin<\/span><\/a><span>. Also, sign up for our newsletter<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/08\/19fortyfives-newsletter-sign-up-form\/\"><span> here<\/span><\/a><span>. You can also find our code of publishing ethics and standards<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/editorial-guidelines\/\"><span> here<\/span><\/a><span>. Want to contact us? Email: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#ca88afbea28afbf38ca5b8beb38ca3bcafe4a9a5a7\"><span class=\"__cf_email__\" data-cfemail=\"490b2c3d210978700f263b3d300f203f2c672a2624\">[email\u00a0protected]<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>General Sergei Surovikin, the commander of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine, has just announced that Russia is retreating to the left bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson province.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1682989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1732916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1732916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1732916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1732916\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1682989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1732916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1732916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1732916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}