Putin’s meeting was likely an attempt to deflect blame for Ukraine’s failures – UK

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Russian President Vladimir Putin aimed to deflect blame for his troops’ failures in Ukraine during his high-profile meeting with senior military officials last week, British defense officials said.

On December 17, Putin was filmed with Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and other military leaders.

The Kremlin said on its website that Putin visited the headquarters of military branches involved in the war in Ukraine, where he held a conference and meetings with commanders.

He also asked for proposals for the next stages of the war, which the Kremlin calls a “special military operation”, and the commander of the Group of Russian Forces in Ukraine, General Sergey Surovikin, presented a report.

Vladimir Putin, right, is pictured with Russian Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov December 17, 2022. British defense officials said Putin’s meeting with his military chiefs on Saturday was aimed at deflecting blame from failures of the Russian forces during their invasion. from Ukraine. GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/Getty Images

In its daily assessment, which focuses on Russian losses and Ukrainian gains, Britain’s Ministry of Defense (MOD) said on Tuesday the ‘choreographed meeting’ was likely intended to ‘demonstrate collective responsibility’ in the war .

“This exposure was likely intended to deflect responsibility from Putin for military failure, high death rates and growing public discontent with the mobilization,” the MOD said.

Russian military bloggers were among those who criticized the botched project, which was beset by complaints about a lack of training and equipment for recruits. Putin’s invasion was also marked by humiliating retreats, most recently from Kherson.

“The TV footage was probably designed to also dispel rumors on social media about the dismissal of General Gerasimov,” the MOD added.

This refers to reports on Russian Telegram channels that Putin would fire Gerasimov and replace him with a “compromise candidate” acceptable to both the armed forces and the Kremlin’s inner circle.

Unverified rumors about Gerasimov, who has overseen the modernization of the Russian military since 2012, have been reported by Western officials and media, but have been dismissed by the Russian Defense Ministry.

During the war, Shoigu was reported to have disappeared, been suspended, and fired, although he remained as head of the Ministry of Defense.

Andrew Monaghan, a senior associate researcher at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told Newsweek he did not believe the meeting was, as the MOD said, aimed at dispelling social media rumours, “although that could be the result.”

Rather, he said Putin’s talks with his military leaders were ahead of the Defense Ministry’s main annual meeting at which Shoigu is expected to present “his plans for the ‘refreshment’ of Russian military strategy.”

In an article published Monday on the London think tank’s website, Monaghan wrote that rumors about Gerasimov and the expanded Russian defense leadership “are essentially based on calls for a new strategy” in Ukraine.

This included questions on “who will oversee the implementation of which reforms, and how will this shape the essential tasks in the mid-2020s?”

Monaghan wrote that Shoigu’s strategy on armed forces development, to be delivered this month, will clarify “how Moscow understands the scale of war in 2023 and what any further escalation might look like.”

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