Russian dictator vladimir putin is attempting not only to militarize russian society but also to shift the blame for the war in Ukraine onto members of the russian State Duma and the country’s population.
It was reported by the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
On July 26, russian Navy Day, putin delivered a speech in which he emphasized the importance of russia’s national unity in the face of the armed aggression in Ukraine. In particular, putin stated that russia needs to “imbued the consciousness” of its civil society with the importance of the war and to preserve a sense of national unity even after the war ends.
Putin also stressed that there is currently nothing more important than the russian troops fighting in Ukraine. The russian dictator stated that the country’s volunteers fear that, in peacetime, russian troops will no longer need their help.
Analysts at the institute describe this as an attempt to portray the russian population as willing to continue the war and make the necessary sacrifices to achieve victory in Ukraine.
In addition, on July 27, putin also held a meeting with members of the russian State Duma, during which he emphasized the russian government’s unity around the military effort and stated that over the past five years, the Duma had passed a total of nearly 3,000 bills, and two-thirds of them were adopted with the support of all factions to support russian troops, defense industries, society, and the economy during the war.
Putin noted that Duma members collectively passed laws on the annexation of the illegally occupied Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson Regions to russia.
"Putin likely highlighted the role of Duma deputies and ordinary citizens in Russia’s military effort in an effort to deflect personal responsibility for the continuing costly war and to portray them as fully supportive of Putin’s decisions ahead of the Duma elections in September 2026,” the ISW concluded.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, a russian publication, citing sources, stated that russia, the aggressor nation, may impose martial law or certain elements thereof, as the situation “is becoming increasingly serious” and it may not be possible to stabilize it without extreme measures.
In June, Reuters reported that hardliners are urging putin to abandon diplomacy and move toward escalation, including considering the use of nuclear weapons.
As a reminder, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later stated that China had reacted strongly to russia’s statements regarding the possibility of using nuclear weapons against Ukraine.
Who we are: About us, Contacts. How we write news and our principles: Editorial code. We did our best. If you found this valuable – please support us.
To request a correction, please send an email.