Vladimir Putin ‘living in fear for his life as army retreats’, Zelensky aide says - The Independent

Russian president Vladimir Putin is “living successful fearfulness for his life” arsenic his service retreats, a elder Ukrainian subject adjutant said.

Earlier this month, Russia announced it was withdrawing from the Kherson region, marking 1 of the astir embarrassing defeats for Mr Putin and a imaginable turning constituent successful the warfare which has reached its ninth month.

The nonaccomplishment of Kherson, the lone determination superior Russia had captured successful the conflict, dealt a dense stroke to plans to found a onshore corridor to Crimea and unafraid a h2o proviso to the Russian-controlled peninsula.

“[Putin] is precise acrophobic due to the fact that determination is nary forgiveness successful Russia for tsars who suffer wars,” Oleksiy Arestovich, an advisor to the Ukrainian president’s main of staff, told The Times.

“He is warring for his beingness now. If helium loses the war, astatine slightest successful the minds of the Russians, it means the end. The extremity of him arsenic a governmental figure. And perchance successful the carnal sense.”

Ukraine’s triumph implicit Kherson came aft a bid of humiliating retreats by Kremlin forces successful the Kharkiv and Donbas regions.

“This has forced adjacent radical who are precise loyal to Putin to uncertainty that they tin triumph this war,” Mr Arestovich said.

He said Kherson’s liberation had triggered renewed Russian strikes connected the country’s infrastructure and plans for a caller violative from Belarus, a Russian state to the northbound of Ukraine. Mr Putin’s troops precocious connected Kyiv from Belarus during the aboriginal stages of the war, but were forced to retreat aft stiff resistance.

Ukrainian authorities person begun evacuating civilians from precocious liberated sections of the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, fearing a deficiency of heat, power and h2o owed to Russian shelling volition marque surviving conditions excessively hard this winter.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says millions of radical successful Ukraine volition look “life-threatening” conditions implicit the coming months, with residents of the confederate regions urged to determination to safer areas successful cardinal and occidental parts of the country.

Mr Arestovich reiterated Ukraine’s purpose to recapture each of its onshore seized by Russia, including Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that was annexed by the Kremlin successful 2014.

Meanwhile, Mr Putin this week touted Russia’s Arctic powerfulness astatine a flag-raising ceremonial and dock motorboat for 2 nuclear-powered icebreakers that volition guarantee year-round navigation successful the Western Arctic.

Presiding via video nexus from the Kremlin astatine the motorboat ceremonial successful the erstwhile imperial superior of St Petersburg successful bluish Russia, Mr Putin said specified icebreakers were of strategical value for the country.

“Both icebreakers were laid down arsenic portion of a ample serial task and are portion of our large-scale, systematic enactment to re-equip and replenish the home icebreaker fleet, to fortify Russia’s presumption arsenic a large Arctic power,” Mr Putin said.

The Arctic is taking connected greater strategical value owed to the clime crisis, arsenic a shrinking crystal headdress opens up caller oversea lanes. Vast lipid and state resources prevarication successful Russia’s Arctic regions, including a liquefied earthy state works connected the Yamal Peninsula.

Mr Putin smiled arsenic the Yakutia atomic icebreaker was launched into the h2o successful the docks and stood arsenic the Russian nationalist anthem graced the raising of the Russian emblem connected the Ural icebreaker which volition statesman enactment successful December.

The Russian president besides announced plans to conscionable the mothers of reservists called up to combat successful Ukraine.

The warfare has killed and wounded tens of thousands of soldiers connected some sides, according to the United States, and the Russian penetration has triggered the biggest confrontation betwixt Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile crisis.

The gathering with soldiers’ mothers, archetypal reported by the Vedomosti newspaper, was confirmed by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. Russia celebrates Mother’s Day connected 27 November.

“Indeed, specified a gathering is planned, we tin confirm,” Peskov told reporters erstwhile asked if Mr Putin was to clasp a gathering with families of the mobilised.

“Such a gathering is successful preparation.

“The president often holds specified meetings, they are not each public. In immoderate case, the president receives first-hand accusation astir the existent authorities of affairs.”