Putin's image event goes wrong: Wagner boss and Selenskyj allow him to appear
Created: 2022-12-21Updated: 2022-12-21, 12:05 p.m
By: Stephanie Munk
Putin probably wanted to polish his image in the Ukraine war with an event in the Kremlin.
But Selenskyj took the wind out of his sails - and criticism also came from Russia.
Moscow/Bakhmut – Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy could not be more different types of politicians.
On Tuesday (20th Tuesday) this became obvious again: Both the Russian and the Ukrainian President honored people for their achievements in the Ukraine war - albeit in very different ways.
For many observers, even inside Russia, Putin presented an unfortunate picture.
The Russian president apparently wanted to polish his image as a committed war leader.
Putin honored officials for their achievements in the Ukraine war - but gave an unfortunate picture compared to Zelenskyj.
© Valery Sharifulin/Imago
Selenskyj makes his most dangerous visit to the front so far
Selenskyj turned up surprisingly on Tuesday in the city of Bakhmut, which had been fought over for months, with medals and gifts for his soldiers who were fighting there at the front.
In a quiet, somewhat depressing atmosphere, Selenskyj stood in the middle of the men and talked to them, as so often he was wearing a casual green jacket.
Zelenskyj visited places at the front several times during the Ukraine war.
But the visit to Bakhmut is the most dangerous so far, as the Russian army is right outside the city gates.
Accordingly, Zelenskyi earned a lot of admiration for his surprise visit: “Zelenskyi in Bakhmut.
The bravest president of the bravest nation,” commented Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Federov on Telegram.
Picture taken on December 20: Zelenskyy visiting the front line in Bakhmut © STRINGER/UKRAINE PRESIDENCY/AFP
Putin celebrates honor with a lot of pomp in the Kremlin - there is criticism in Russia
And then Putin: he also awarded medals on Tuesday.
However, he did not travel to the war zone for this, but held the ceremony with great pomp in the Kremlin.
The Russian soldiers at the front were not honored either, but occupation and Kremlin officials as well as military leaders from the occupied areas of Donetsk, Luhansk, Cherson and Zaporizhia.
There were speeches, fanfare music, stern military salutes and formal handshakes.
The independent Russian news portal
Medusa
compared the two performances in a video with the telling comment: "See the difference."
On December 20, Russian President Vladimir Putin honored Denis Puschilin, a politician from the internationally unrecognized Donetsk People's Republic.
© Kremlin/Imago
Criticism from Russia for Putin's appearance
Even in Russia, Putin's appearance, which was in stark contrast to Zelenskyj's visit to the front, sparked criticism, writes the US think tank Institute for the Study on War (ISW) in an analysis.
The Russian ex-commander Igor Girkin, who had often made critical statements, expressed his displeasure.
He complained that Putin honors "his heroes in the Kremlin" but not soldiers who fight at the front.
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Military bloggers have also speculated how it was possible that Zelenskyy was able to walk around freely in Bakhmut - located in the Donetsk region annexed by Russia.
The bloggers did not even rule out a ceasefire secretly decreed by the Kremlin.
Prigozhin allegedly dares to go to the Ukraine front - weakens Putin's image
According to the ISW, Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary troupe, then poured oil on the fire: "Possibly accidentally" he undermined Putin's authority: Prigozhin published several videos in which he claimed that he was at the front with Bakhmut to help Zelenskyy to talk about the control of the contested areas.
Increasingly present in the Ukraine war: Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozchin.
© IMAGO / ITAR-TASS
This "negotiation offer" is absurd insofar as Prigozhin, known as "Putin's cook", has no official position in Russia.
"However, Prigozhin continues to present himself as a prominent political and military figure in Russia," according to the ISW experts.
It was even rumored recently that Prigozhin was secretly working to overthrow Putin and wanted to go into politics himself.
In any case, the fact that Prigozhin allegedly showed up at the front weakens Putin's desired image of himself as a committed war leader, the ISW writes in the analysis.
Because: Putin has not once visited the areas occupied by Russia, let alone ventured near the front lines.
Putin seems "rather shameful" as supreme commander in Ukraine war
And there was another embarrassment for the leadership in Moscow: According to ISW, social media users revealed that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu did not visit the front in the Ukraine war on December 17, as he himself had claimed.
They had checked the geodata of the published videos of the trip and found that he was actually in Crimea.
All of this makes Putin's self-portrayal as supreme commander in the Ukraine war seem "more shameful than competent," the US analysts conclude.
Meanwhile, Zelenskyj is making another trip on Wednesday (December 21) - but this time he is not going to the front, but is visiting US President Joe Biden in Washington.
(smu with material from AFP)
