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Russian President Vladimir Putin will doubtless not be making his annual deal with to the Federal Meeting of Russia this yr as his struggle plans in Ukraine proceed to crumble.
“The message needs to be held yearly, and the countdown begins from the earlier message. Due to this fact, the message can happen as early as subsequent yr… I imagine that this yr it should not be,” a supply in parliament mentioned, in keeping with TASS.
Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed the information.
“So far as the message is worried, is it potential to ship a message subsequent yr, it actually is feasible. That is such a reasonably apparent fact,” Peskov informed reporters.
It’s simply the most recent occasion of Putin shying away from the general public eye whereas his struggle in Ukraine falters. The Kremlin has additionally opted to cancel Putin’s annual press convention for the primary time in ten years, and Putin postponed an important navy assembly with high navy representatives after main battlefield losses in Ukraine in September.
Information of the potential delay coincides with reports that the Kremlin has been urging officers “to not upset” Putin with questions concerning the struggle in Ukraine.
The occasion is supposed to permit the president of Russia to share the standing of the nation and lay out plans forward for the brand new yr on each home and international coverage, in keeping with the Russian structure.
It could be the primary time the deal with is postponed in 5 years. In 2017, Putin delayed the supply of the message to March 2018.
However with the dearth of progress in Russia’s struggle in Ukraine, the attraction of a public evaluation on international coverage aims seems to be waning.
Ukraine carried out a number of counteroffensives this fall to kick Russia out of territories seized since February. In some instances, Russia has been open about fleeing areas it needed to abandon when Ukraine’s counteroffensive kicked off. Early final month, Russian authorities introduced they had been doubtless leaving Kherson, Russia’s solely stronghold west of the Dnieper River on the time, days earlier than Ukraine liberated the strategically vital metropolis.
The Kharkiv operation got here as a shock to Russian management there, leaving Russians outnumbered eight to at least one and with no alternative however to retreat. Now, Russia is dug in on protection within the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson instructions and susceptible to Ukrainian efforts to chop off their provides or squeeze in on them.
On high of all the losses, Russia’s navy logistics are floundering, and a few of Putin’s key allies have been sniping about his decision-making in current weeks.
The way in which the struggle goes in Ukraine has factored into earlier choices to cancel Putin’s different public appearances, in keeping with RBC.
On the home entrance, assist for Putin’s struggle is dipping as properly. A rising proportion, 31 p.c, of Russians assist partaking in peace negotiations over persevering with the struggle, in keeping with a Chicago Council-Levada Middle survey carried out in November.