Vladimir Putin's running out of time after the Wagner insurrection revealed just how fragile the Russian leadership is.
In Ukiraine, the focus has been on the tantalising possibility that Yevgeny Prigozhin's uprising could signal the end of the tyrant's reign.
The closest adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky Andriy Yermak said the "countdown has started" during a briefing in Kyiv today.
He was discussing the years since Russia first annexed the Crimean Pensinsula in 2014.
"What Ukraine has seen since 2014 has become evident for the entire world," said Mr Yermak.
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Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner mutineers planned to march on Moscow and oust the military leaders (AFP via Getty Images)"This [Russia] is a terrorist country whose leader is an inadequate person who has lost connection with reality. The world must conclude that it's impossible to have any kind of serious relationship with that country."
Officials speaking to the BBC argued that President Putin's number is up as he will be unable to ride out such a catastrophic challenge to his authority.
They claim that the beginning of his downward trajectory happened when he decided to invade in February 2022, adding that the Wagner mutiny has now sealed his fate, taking away any possibility of him staying in office.
Prigozhin wanted rid of Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Andrey Gerasimov for their failings in the Ukraine war (Russian Defence Ministry/AFP via)One insisted that the "Putin regime", "cannot be saved".
Though the comments come from an enemy, it's clear that Putin is facing the strongest challenge to his authority in the 23 years he has ruled Russia.
Others add that there are ranks of disenchanted officials in the Kremlin who oppose the despot.
Ukrainian negotiator and presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)Ukraine's National Securtiy and Defence Council secretary Oleksiy Danilov said that "Prigozhin is not the most senior" official who's against Putin, adding that those senior officials could become the "new political elite".
The well-organised resistance is made up of security forces, officials and oligarch representatives who believe Putin's invasion was a disaster for their personal lives and a threat to the Russian state.
"I'm not speculating," Mr Danilov told the BBC. "We know who these people are, we know about their lives."
A cannon blasts in a video grab from footage released by Russia's Defence Ministry (Uncredited/AP/REX/Shutterstock)Another of Zelensky's advisers, Mykhailo Podolyak said there are "several groups of people who want to take power in Russia".
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One anonymous senior official said Putin may be forced to oust Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and the chief of the Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov should they be beaten again on the battlefield.
Shoigu and Gerasimov were the two men that Yevgeny Prigozhin wanted to march his mercenaries to Moscow to depose.
"Prigozhin will get what he wanted," the official said. "His political life is not finished. He won't stay in exile in Belarus."
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