In its latest intelligence update, the UK Ministry of Defence says that the choice of the Russian interior minister as the main speaker at Russia’s Security Council meeting was likely an attempt to falsely show normalization in occupied territories, while in reality, much of the area remains an active combat zone.
The ministry tweeted:
- “On 5 April 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin chaired a full session of Russia’s Security Council, the first such event since October 2022.”
- “The main report was presented by Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, and discussed reconstruction, law enforcement and public order in the illegally-annexed areas of Ukraine.”
- “The choice of Kolokoltsev as the main speaker is likely an attempt by the Kremlin to portray the situation in those territories as being normalised. In reality, much of the area remains an active combat zone, subject to partisan attacks, and with extremely limited access to basic services for many citizens.”
Read also:
- Putin fosters conditions for further repressions in occupied territories – ISW
- Ukraine to give Russia options to leave Crimea or face military action on peninsula – Ukrainian official
- Ukraine liberated almost half of Russian-occupied territories since February 2022 – Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief
- Deportation in the 21st century: what you need to know about Russia’s crime in Ukraine
- Media must stop pretending Russia is credible after ECHR’s ruling on occupied Donbas
- After one year of war, Ukrainians overwhelmingly reject territorial concessions to Russia