Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chief of the General Staff General Valery Gerasimov and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu at the Southern Military District headquarters in Rostov on Don last week, the UK Defense Ministry reported. This was Putin’s second visit to the headquarters in four weeks.
The UK intel also reported that the Kremlin announced that Putin will hold his traditional combined press conference and public phone-in before the end of the year. The same event in 2022 was cancelled “probably because Russia had suffered high-profile military set-backs in Ukraine over the preceding weeks.”
British intelligence concluded that both events indicate Putin is preparing for his anticipated campaign to secure a fifth presidential term in the March 2024 elections. He is expected to announce his candidacy before 2023 ends.
“Putin’s recent uptick in his continued efforts to paint himself as the “patriotic” candidate ahead of the election campaign,” the analysts say.
According to the UK intel, “Kremlin planners certainly see the planned press conference as an important waypoint in Putin’s path to re-election.”
The press conference and phone-in will give Putin a platform to make his case to the Russian people. The military visits allow him to emphasize his image as a strong wartime leader.
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