{"id":242,"date":"2026-04-03T14:06:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T18:06:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jakony.com\/frontpage\/?p=242"},"modified":"2026-04-03T14:10:56","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T18:10:56","slug":"putin-is-scared-to-death-right-now-as-ukraines-strikes-rupture-his-inner-circle-bill-browder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jakony.com\/frontpage\/video\/putin-is-scared-to-death-right-now-as-ukraines-strikes-rupture-his-inner-circle-bill-browder\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Putin is scared to death right now’ as Ukraine’s strikes rupture his inner circle | Bill Browder"},"content":{"rendered":"

(LONDON) –<\/strong> Sir Bill Browder says the Russian dictator is facing growing political and economic pressure as Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure deepen, internet shutdowns disrupt daily life in major cities and Moscow struggles to project strength abroad.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Frontline<\/em> on Times Radio, Browder said recent Ukrainian attacks appear to be inflicting far greater damage on Russia than before, particularly by targeting the infrastructure that underpins the Kremlin\u2019s war economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems to me, and I have not seen any analysis yet, but I\u2019m sure it will come out, is that the Ukrainians are hitting the Russian targets much, much harder now in the last few weeks than they ever were before,\u201d Browder said.<\/p>\n

He pointed to major fires at Russian Baltic oil export facilities, saying the damage was especially significant because of the role those sites play in sustaining Russian crude exports.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve all seen those images of those oil ports in the Baltic burning for days. I think they\u2019re still burning,\u201d he said, referring to Ust Luga and Primorsk. \u201cThose ports are responsible for a big part of Russia\u2019s oil.\u201d<\/p>\n

Browder said Ukraine had struck the Russian dictator \u201cright where it counts\u201d by hitting Moscow\u2019s ability to export oil, the Kremlin\u2019s most important source of war funding.<\/p>\n

He said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had for a long time pressed Western governments to impose tougher sanctions on Russian oil, but with insufficient action from abroad, Kyiv had effectively moved to impose its own sanctions through force.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo he imposed his own sanctions on Russian oil and it\u2019s been very, very powerful,\u201d Browder said.<\/p>\n

He added that the full scale effect of the campaign may not yet be visible, but argued that what can already be seen points to growing concern at the top of the Kremlin.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we can see is that Putin is not pounding his chest feeling very good. He\u2019s scared to death right now,\u201d Browder said.<\/p>\n

He argued that this anxiety is showing itself not only in military and economic policy but also in domestic controls. Browder said internet shutdowns in Moscow and St Petersburg suggest the Kremlin is worried about internal instability and possible threats to the Russian dictator personally.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s shut down the internet in Moscow and St Petersburg,\u201d Browder said, adding that after the killing of Iran\u2019s supreme leader, Putin may now fear that Ukraine could one day strike at him directly.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe watched the murder of the Ayatollah and thought that the Ukrainians might be able to do that to him. And he\u2019s really scared.\u201d<\/p>\n

Browder said the internet restrictions have exposed a weakness in the Kremlin\u2019s long standing social bargain with urban Russians.<\/p>\n

He said the Russian authorities had effectively allowed people in Moscow and St Petersburg to live relatively comfortable and politically passive lives while the state carried out repression and war elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Russian government has always had a deal with the people,\u201d he said. \u201cWe will do whatever we want, do all these terrible things with Ukrainians and other parts of the world, but you can sort of live a happy life at least in St Petersburg and Moscow.\u201d<\/p>\n

That arrangement, he said, is now under strain.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow all of a sudden they turn off the internet and everybody is not living a happy life anymore in Russia,\u201d Browder said.<\/p>\n

He said the practical effect has been striking in two of Russia\u2019s wealthiest and most connected cities.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to imagine what life is like without the internet. It\u2019s like going back 30 years,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople in Moscow and St Petersburg are having to buy paper maps. They\u2019re getting walkie talkies to communicate. All sorts of weird stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Browder said these developments suggest there is a deeper problem inside the Russian system.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s something going on which is not a great thing for Vladimir Putin,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He argued that the wider picture also shows that the Kremlin\u2019s claim to great power status has weakened sharply.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps the biggest thing going on is that he\u2019s been proven to be, effectively, as Obama described him, a weak regional leader as opposed to a superpower,\u201d Browder said.<\/p>\n

He said the Russian dictator had long tried to portray himself as the leader of a powerful anti Western bloc, promising protection and influence to allies including Syria, Venezuela and Iran.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was saying, I\u2019m the big superpower. Syria, Venezuela, Iran, you come with me and everything will be fine,\u201d Browder said. \u201cAnd all those countries are not fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that Moscow has not been able to meaningfully protect or stabilise those partners and said this has damaged Russia\u2019s standing with both current and potential allies.<\/p>\n

Asked whether Donald Trump might be deliberately isolating Putin while publicly maintaining friendly relations with him, Browder rejected the idea that there was a coherent strategic plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that Donald Trump really, really wants to be close friends with Putin,\u201d Browder said.<\/p>\n

He said Trump appears eager for the war to end not out of principle but because he wants to normalise relations with Russia and reopen the possibility of business.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he really wants whatever business deals he can do with Russia. He can\u2019t do those business deals until the war is over,\u201d Browder said. \u201cHe just desperately wants this war to end so that he can normalise relations and get all this business done that he\u2019s hoping to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Browder said Trump\u2019s broader foreign policy actions have often had little to do with Russia directly, but that the overall effect of events around the world has still exposed the limits of Kremlin power.<\/p>\n

He pointed to developments involving Venezuela, Iran, Syria and the South Caucasus as examples of how Moscow\u2019s reach has been overstated.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe couldn\u2019t even protect the Armenians from the Azerbaijanis,\u201d Browder said, referring to Russia\u2019s failure to prevent the loss of disputed territories in Nagorno Karabakh despite earlier promises of support to Armenia.<\/p>\n

He said that episode, like others, showed Putin \u201cis looking very weak\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can\u2019t even make any progress in Ukraine and every one of his allies that he\u2019s promised stuff around the world is falling,\u201d Browder said.<\/p>\n

He argued that this matters because it leaves the Kremlin with little credibility in trying to recruit or reassure future partners.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can\u2019t make any promises to any future allies. He really is isolated and that\u2019s not a good thing for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The interview also turned to reports that Putin had recently asked top Russian business figures for \u201cvoluntary\u201d payments to support the war effort.<\/p>\n

The discussion referenced reporting that Rosneft chief Igor Sechin had proposed the idea and that oligarch Suleiman Kerimov had allegedly pledged 100 billion roubles<\/strong>, which is about $1.17 billion<\/strong> at current exchange rates.<\/p>\n

The Kremlin later denied it was directly seeking cash.<\/p>\n

Browder said the reported meeting nonetheless suggested financial stress.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely. You don\u2019t go and try to squeeze the oligarchs for money if you\u2019re in good shape,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said that despite stronger oil prices and looser practical constraints on some Russian exports, the Kremlin appears to be in a much weaker economic position than it wants to admit.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven with the rising oil price and even with the sanctions being lifted, he\u2019s in a very tough economic situation,\u201d Browder said.<\/p>\n

He added that internet restrictions themselves also point to insecurity at the top.<\/p>\n

\u201cCutting off the internet shows how desperate he is as well,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t think he\u2019s in a good place at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time, Browder cautioned that it remains difficult to know exactly how severe the pressure is because reliable information from inside Russia has become scarce.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very hard to know exactly what\u2019s going on though because there\u2019s no real good, clear, honest information coming out of Russia,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said independent journalism has been almost completely crushed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnybody who\u2019s an objective reporter is pretty much already dead, in jail or in exile,\u201d Browder said.<\/p>\n

That leaves only fragments of information, he said, making it hard to judge how events inside Russia are developing beneath the surface.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get bits and pieces, but it\u2019s pretty hard to know how it\u2019s all playing itself out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Browder said some in the Russian opposition believe the system could unravel quickly if enough pressure builds.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs some of my friends in the Russian opposition say, when it\u2019s all going to come undone, it\u2019s going to happen very quickly and unexpectedly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know when that\u2019s going to be, but it\u2019s nice to see signs of stress on his system.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those \u201cgreen shoots of stress\u201d, as the programme\u2019s host described them, come as Putin appears increasingly silent while Ukraine presses ahead on multiple fronts.<\/p>\n

Browder said Ukrainian forces have effectively stopped Russian advances in several areas and in some sectors are pushing them back.<\/p>\n

He also said Russia appears less able than before to rely on the tactics it previously used, including fixed wing aircraft and glide bomb attacks, raising the possibility of broader difficulties within the Russian air force.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Browder said Ukraine has expanded its strike campaign inside Russia, not only hitting oil and gas infrastructure and export networks, but also chemical plants, factories producing rocket propellants and explosives, and engineering facilities linked to military production.<\/p>\n

He said this reflects a more systematic effort by Kyiv to degrade the economic and industrial foundations of Russia\u2019s war machine.<\/p>\n

Beyond the battlefield, Browder said Ukraine is also increasingly turning wartime innovation into strategic leverage abroad.<\/p>\n

He pointed to Ukrainian technology developed to counter Russian and Iranian made Shahed 136 drones and said Kyiv is now exporting or marketing such systems to countries including Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

This, he argued, has helped Ukraine build new relationships and attract longer term support that is less dependent on the United States.<\/p>\n

He also said that despite Donald Trump\u2019s earlier claim in the Oval Office that Ukraine had \u201cno cards\u201d, Kyiv now appears to have several strong ones.<\/p>\n

Browder said Zelenskyy had already shown Ukraine could break Russia\u2019s attempted blockade of the Black Sea and protect grain exports, and argued that if Kyiv could help secure wider shipping routes such as the Strait of Hormuz, it would further increase Ukraine\u2019s strategic value to the wider world.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he can do that, the whole world owes him everything,\u201d Browder said.<\/p>\n

He added that Ukraine\u2019s growing defence ties with Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern governments also appear to be irritating Washington.<\/p>\n

Browder cited reports that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had rebuked Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over a defence deal with Ukraine that had not gone through Washington.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re pissed. They\u2019re pissed,\u201d Browder said of the US reaction.<\/p>\n

He said the broader lesson is that the global balance of influence no longer looks as clear as it once did.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in a world where the superpowers aren\u2019t so super powerful and the supposed weak powers aren\u2019t so weak,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

That, he added, may be especially frustrating for Trump.<\/p>\n

\u201cDonald Trump is watching all these Ukrainian actions and saying, \u2018Well, you guys should have folded a long time ago so I could have done my business with Putin. This is really annoying.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The interview was broadcast on Frontline<\/em> with Kate Gerbeau, Philip Ingram and Louis Sykes, produced by Times Radio.<\/p>\n