The Russian economy is doing better than in a long time and the Russian soldiers are achieving success in Ukraine. Those were some of the messages from the hour-long press meeting with a Russian president who was unusually happy, according to Russia expert Malcolm Dixelius.
– It was a Putin with a good mood and with great optimism that things are going well in the country and at the front, he says.
The question-and-answer session is usually an annual event, but has not been held since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. According to the state news agency Tass, he should have received around two million questions in advance. The overarching theme of the questions concerned the war in Ukraine.
Putin described the war between Russia and Ukraine as a civil war.
– Putin believes that the civil war is behind the West and that Ukraine is acting on behalf of the United States. It’s about separating two fraternal peoples from each other, says Malcolm Dixelius.
Several political leaders around the world will probably follow Putin’s press conference and there is probably not much new that will emerge, says foreign affairs commentator Lisa Grenfors.
– It is mostly about the tone of the speech. I agree with Malcolm Dixelius that he looked a bit jovial and of course that’s part of the game.
No new mobilization
Vladimir Putin said during the speech that “at the moment” there is no need for further mobilization. The president said that about 400,000 volunteers have joined the Russian army. Figures that are impossible to control, says Dixelius.
– He says that only to avoid the discussion of a new mobilization. He wants to convey that no new mobilization is needed.
One of the first questions Putin answered was when there might be peace. Then he replied that there will be peace when Russia has achieved its goals and cleared Ukraine of Nazis.
– He no longer talks about conquering all of Ukraine anymore. He talks about getting a neutral Ukraine. But it is largely the same message as before, says Dixelius.
A divided Europe
During the speech, Putin said that Ukraine gets everything for free from other countries and that they cannot manufacture anything themselves. He mentioned Hungarian President Victor Orban as an exception and that they are nationalists defending their interests. At the same time, the US Senate recently rejected a new aid package for Ukraine.
– Putin sees with some satisfaction a Europe and the West that is now divided and that Ukraine does not get the right status vis-à-vis the EU countries and that benefits Russia.