Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin is expected to update Russia’s elite on the Ukrainian war on Tuesday, nearly one year since he invaded the neighbouring country, which has triggered the confrontation with the West since the depths of the Cold War.
In his speech, Putin is expected to focus on what he casts as the “special army operation” in Ukraine, analyse the world situation, and outline his vision of Mascow development after the West slapped the severest sanctions in recent history.
“At such a crucial and complicated juncture in our development, our lives, everyone is waiting for a message in the hopes of hearing the assessment of what is happening, the assessment of the special army operation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state television.
The speech of members of both houses of parliament and army commanders and soldiers is due to begin at 0900 GMT in central Moscow.
The Ukraine war is the biggest bet by a Kremlin chief since 1991 fall of the Soviet Union and a gamble western leaders such as United States President Joe Biden say he must lose.
Major Battlefield
The Russian military has suffered three major battlefield reversals since the war began but still controls around one-fifth of Ukraine.
Tens of thousands of people were killed, and Putin, 70, now says Russia is locked in an existential battle with the arrogant West which he said wants to carve up Russia and steal its massive natural resources.
