Western official says Putin weakened by war but unlikely to exit Kremlin anytime soon

President Vladimir Putin has been weakened by what the West believes was his mistaken decision to invade Ukraine, but there's unlikely to be any change in power at the top in Russia anytime soon, a Western official said on Wednesday. "He has been weakened by this really catastrophic error," said the Western official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

President Vladimir Putin has been weakened by what the West believes was his mistaken decision to invade Ukraine, but there's unlikely to be any change in power at the top in Russia anytime soon, a Western official said on Wednesday.

"He has been weakened by this really catastrophic error," said the Western official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We are seeing the Russian military humbled on the battlefield by Ukraine." "People can see that he has made a big error," said the same official.

"That has to mean that people are talking more about succession, they are talking more about what comes next, they are imagining a life beyond. But what I am not doing is suggesting that that's anytime soon."