If you read the Russian newspapers this morning, you would be forgiven for thinking today was a day like any other. You would have almost no clue that 24 February marks the one year anniversary of Putin’s bloody, stalling invasion of Ukraine, in which nearly 200,000 of the country’s men have so far been killed or injured.
Not a single Russian newspaper carried any articles commemorating the anniversary this morning. The closest they got to directly acknowledging it was to report the news that Putin wouldn’t be giving a speech today to mark the occasion.
While surprising, Putin’s decision not to commemorate the start of his invasion is, admittedly, not totally unexpected. The war is not going well for Russia: the army has sustained huge losses, with few significant territorial gains to boast of. Criticism of the Kremlin has become commonplace in corners of the military blogging community.
The time for reflection, and even then, only in Kremlin-sanctioned forms, has not yet come for Russia
Putin dedicated a portion of his address
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