War on Ukraine: London: Putin fears anti-war sentiment in Russia

war against Ukraine
London: Putin fears anti-war sentiment in Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin has canceled his annual press conference for this year. photo
© Aleksey Nikolskyi/Pool Sputnik Kremlin/AP/dpa/Archive
Putin had surprisingly canceled his traditional annual press conference. The British secret service says it is probably also out of concern that a discussion about the Ukraine war could arise.
According to British intelligence experts, the Russian leadership is concerned about the increase in anti-war sentiment in their country. This is indicated by the cancellation of the Russian President’s traditional annual press conference Wladimir Putin according to the daily intelligence update from the Ministry of Defense in London on Tuesday.
“The officials in Kremlin are almost certainly very concerned about the possibility that an event attended by Putin could be hijacked for an illicit discussion of the “military special operation,” the statement tweeted.
Putin’s big annual press conference has taken place a total of 17 times since 2001. There were interruptions only in 2005 and in the years 2008-2012, when Dmitry Medvedev held the presidency. Hundreds of Russian and foreign media representatives traveled to the event.
The British Ministry of Defense has published daily information on the course of the war since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine at the end of February, citing intelligence information. In doing so, the British government wants to both counter the Russian portrayal and keep allies in line. Moscow throws London a targeted disinformation campaign.