“This plus all the reports of arrests of high officials could make me wonder if there is a succession battle going on.”
So what? It might just put someone worse in the job. Do you see any possible successor that would just quit the war? We have a saying in America about “Wish in one hand, shit in the other, and see which one fills up quicker.” That’s where the Ukraine partisans are, full of unreality and wishful thinking.
Did I say anything about a possible successor being better or worse? No, I did not. It's a serious problem with you Putinskis; you're so consumed with your hatred for Ukraine that you see things that aren't there. The DSM calls that apophenia, and the next step is institutionalization.