Russian President Vladimir Putin will not hold his annual year-end marathon news conference this month amid the war in Ukraine, a break in the long-held tradition that observers have attributed to the Kremlin's uneasiness about a string of battlefield setbacks.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has confirmed that Putin would not hold the annual news conference for the first time in 10 years. He didn't comment on the reason behind it, but many commentators attributed it to Putin's reluctance to face unpleasant questions about what he calls Russia's “special military operation" in Ukraine.
Putin and his government refer to the Russian invasion of Ukraine as "special military operation". While Russian forces reached outskirts of Ukrainian capital Kyiv in the initial weeks of Ukraine War, Ukrainians have advancing in recent months and, since October, have recaptured large territories in eastern Ukraine in a counter-offensive. As the war progresses poorly for Russia, Putin has apparently decided to avoid questions.
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The annual news conference has been used by the Kremlin to polish Putin's image. The tightly stage-managed show televised live lasted for up to four and a half hours and featured Putin talking about a wide range of domestic and foreign policy issues.
Political analyst Abbas Gallyamov said in a video commentary that Putin cancelled the annual news conference because "he has nothing to say from the point of view of strategy."
"The press conference has become a significant fixture in Putin's calendar of public engagement and has frequently been used as an opportunity to demonstrate the supposed integrity of Putin,” the UK Defence Ministry said in a commentary on Twitter.
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"Although questions are almost certainly usually vetted in advance, the cancellation is likely due to increasing concerns about the prevalence of anti-war feeling in Russia,” it said. “Kremlin officials are almost certainly extremely sensitive about the possibility that any event attended by Putin could be hijacked by unsanctioned discussion about the special military operation.”
Amid a string of military setbacks in Ukraine, Putin spiked another annual fixture, a televised call-in show in which he takes questions from the public to nurture his father-of-the-nation image.
Putin also so far has failed to deliver the televised state-of-the-nation address to parliament, a speech he's obliged by the country's constitution to deliver each year.
The Kremlin hasn't set a date for Putin's address.
(With AP inputs)
