Russia’s president Vladimir Putin spent the entire Friday working at a ‘Joint staff of troops’ used in the Ukraine War, the Kremlin reports.
“The leader of the state acquainted himself with the staff’s work, listened to various reports on the progress of the special military operation and held a staff meeting, as well as separate meetings with the commanders,” says the Kremlin’s website.
Judging by the photos and videos published by the Kremlin, the top brass of the Russian military also attended the meeting, including Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu, the Head of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and Sergey Surovikin, the commander of the joint grouping in Ukraine.
It is unclear what Putin’s visit was concerned with and where the ‘Joint staff’ is located, The Insider notes.
According to Agentstvo, it is the first time in ten months of the Ukraine War Vladimir Putin shows such deep involvement in his army’s affairs.
Russian President Vladimir Putin postponed his annual address to the Russian parliament, as well as his annual press conference, earlier. This indicates he is not certain of his ability to control the Russian information space amid growing criticism over Moscow’s invasion into Ukraine, the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believes.
The Russian retreat from some of the occupied Ukrainian territories has likely undermined Putin’s plans to “declare victory” during his parliamentary address, the ISW believes. The analysts add that another reason behind the postponement is “public dissatisfaction” with mobilisation.
