Newsweek: 5 personalities nominated to succeed Putin in the event of his overthrow

As Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine falters after eight months of conflict, speculation is growing over who will succeed the Russian leader if he is ousted as the Western camp wishes.

The Russian president, who turned 70 on October 7, failed to achieve the quick victory he sought when he announced the launch of what he called a "special military operation" in Ukraine on February 24.

A report published by the American magazine "Newsweek" indicates that what the magazine calls the "military falter of the Russian army", and Ukraine's ability to recover large swathes of its territory after months of fighting, has sparked rare criticism from Putin's most prominent allies.

Among the allies of the Russian leader who criticized the performance of his forces in Ukraine are the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, and Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Russian mercenary group "Wagner", while Ukrainian intelligence indicated that the Russian army might attempt a coup against him.

Newsweek says that the Kremlin has chosen 5 prominent officials as presidential candidates, and it quoted the independent Russian newspaper "Medusa" as saying that secret discussions are taking place in the Kremlin to develop a list of personalities nominated to succeed the Russian leader in the event of his overthrow, due to the war in Ukraine.

According to the magazine's report, the five officials nominated to succeed the Russian leader in the country's presidency are:

Dmitry Medvedev

(57 years old)

Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, former Russian President.

Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, former Russian President (French)

Sergey Kirienko

(60 years old)

Sergei Kirienko, First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Russian Federation (Getty)

Sergei Kiriyenko is the first deputy chief of staff of President Vladimir Putin.

He is now responsible for overseeing the annexation of Russia's Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.

Dmitriy Patrushev

Dmitry Patrushev, the Russian Minister of Agriculture and the son of the head of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev (Getty)

Dmitry Patrushev is the Russian Minister of Agriculture, and the son of the head of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev.

Nikolai Patrushev

Nikolai Patrushev, head of the Russian Security Council (Getty)

Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of Russia's National Security Council, is a Kremlin hawk close to Putin.

And the American newspaper "Washington Post" indicated - in a previous report - that Patrushev was among the few security advisers who knew of Putin's war decision before the start of the war on Ukraine.

Yevgeny Prigogine

Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Russian mercenary group "Wagner", known as "Putin's Chef" (Getty Images)

Yevgeny Prigozhin is the founder of the Russian mercenary group "Wagner", also known as "Putin's Chef".

The Newsweek report indicates that Prigozhin's name has made headlines in recent weeks, due to his public mockery of the Russian army's performance against the backdrop of the Ukrainian counterattack that managed to defeat Russian forces in southern and northeastern Ukraine.