The latest televised appearance of Russian President Vladimir Putin shows signs of him seeking to “deflect responsibility” for military failures, high fatality rates in the war in Ukraine, as well as increasing public frustration amid mobilization in Russia, the U.K. Defense Ministry said in its daily update on Dec. 20.
The ministry characterized Putin’s televised meeting with senior Russian military officials, including Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu as “choreographed” and intended to portray a sense of “collective responsibility” for the invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s General Staff reported the same day that Russia has lost 99,230 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24.
