Putin’s Russia struggles for response to Ukrainian blitz
- The president said nothing about Kyiv’s counteroffensive while marking a festive holiday in Moscow
- Criticism from military bloggers, commentators and even a Chechen leader suggests the Kremlin is losing control over the narrative
As Russian troops were retreating in northeastern Ukraine amid a fierce counteroffensive by Kyiv, Muscovites were celebrating the 875th anniversary of the city’s founding. Fireworks boomed and President Vladimir Putin inaugurated a huge Ferris wheel, a new transport link and sports arena.
The Russian capital’s festive holiday weekend stood in stark contrast to the military debacle unfolding in Ukraine that seemed to catch the Kremlin by surprise in the nearly 7-month-old war.
The rapid and reportedly chaotic troop withdrawal in the Kharkiv region, in which some weapons and ammunition were left behind, was a huge blow to Russian prestige. It was its largest military defeat in Ukraine since Moscow pulled back its forces from areas near Kyiv after a botched attempt to capture the capital early in the invasion.
As he attended the holiday celebrations that included the inauguration of the Ferris wheel – bigger than the iconic London Eye and now Europe’s largest such amusement ride – Putin said nothing about the key moment in Ukraine.
Indeed, the Ukrainian counteroffensive appears to have left the Kremlin struggling for a response.
The defence ministry declared the troop pullback was intended to strengthen Russia’s forces in the Donbas, a somewhat weak excuse, given that Russia-held areas in the Kharkiv region provided a key vantage point for Moscow’s operations in the Donetsk region to the south.