Kremlin-watchers have been left baffled by the last-minute cancellation of a major announcement by Vladimir Putin aimed at turning the tide of the Ukraine war following weeks of embarassing setbacks.
Kremlin-watchers have been left baffled by the last-minute cancellation of a major announcement by Vladimir Putin aimed at turning the tide of war following weeks of embarassing setbacks.
Pro-Kremlin propagandists then appeared to suggest his speech had been postponed, although an official confirmation had yet to be issued late on Tuesday night. Experts believed the 69-year-old would set the stage for Moscow to formally absorb Russian-held Ukrainian territories into its control.Earlier in the day, four regions occupied by the invaders announced plans to stage referendums over the coming week on whether they should become part of Russia.
Nato’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg added: ‘Sham referendums have no legitimacy and do not change the nature of Russia’s war of aggression.’ Western intelligence sources say Russia and Ukraine are roughly level in troop numbers but that the defenders are ‘streets ahead’ in terms of morale.General Sir Richard Shirreff, a former deputy Supreme Allied Commander of Nato, told Sky News: ‘Let’s be realistic. Mobilising one to two million men is going to take an enormous amount of military resourcing.
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