The Kremlin boss’s strategy: a week full of Putin headlines, that’s what’s behind it

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One Russia report followed the next this week. Vladimir Putin (71) repeatedly played an important role. The headlines at a glance and what the Russian president could achieve with them:

Apparently having nuclear weapons on Earth is not enough for Putin. Russia wants to develop nuclear weapons in space. According to information from American intelligence services, the Russians are working on weapons that target satellites. However, it is unclear whether we are talking about a nuclear-powered anti-satellite system or actual nuclear weapons.

Although the information comes from the American secret services, the publication will probably play into Putin’s hands. By reporting alleged space weapons, he is demonstrating dominance and seeking supremacy over the rest of the world. In the race to land on the moon, the Russians lost to the Americans. Now Putin could try to challenge the US for power in space.

US President Joe Biden (81) repeatedly rails against Putin. Yet the Kremlin boss does not want Donald Trump (77) to return to the White House, but rather wants Biden to have another term as president. “Biden has more experience. He is predictable, he is an old-fashioned politician,” Putin said in Moscow on Wednesday.

While it sounds nice, it may not be meant that way. Because: These words could turn off undecided voters in the US. If Putin chooses Biden, he may not become president again. That could be the idea. The presidential elections will take place in the US on November 5. Trump has already won important primaries.

The news shocked the world: Alexei Navalny († 47) is dead. The prominent Kremlin critic, who was considered Putin’s main domestic political opponent, died on Friday in a penal colony in Russia’s Arctic region, according to prison authorities. The reasons for his death are under investigation, the report said.

Apparently Putin was too afraid of Navalny’s influence. That’s why he was eliminated. Because: Putin announced his candidacy for a fifth term as president in December. In early February, Navalny called on his compatriots to protest against Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin in the presidential elections in March. His supporters should go to the polls at the same time on election day and form lines to express their protest against Putin.

Putin’s forces captured the city of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine this week after months of bitter fighting. It was one of the fiercest battles in the almost two-year war in Ukraine. The city, which had a population of about 33,000 before the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, is located in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, one of four regions that the Kremlin declared annexed in 2022.

Avdiivka also has great symbolic significance because pro-Russian separatists led by Moscow had already captured the city in July 2014, but Ukrainian units took the city back under their control shortly afterwards. An important success for Russian President Putin, who especially needs positive news from Ukraine before the elections in March. What was expected to be a lightning victory has now turned into a bloody trench war that has cost the lives of thousands of Russians.

In addition, the economy in Russia is weakening, the population is shrinking and after two years more and more people are tired of the war, especially considering the many deaths.

The 60th Munich Security Conference this weekend focused mainly on the war in Ukraine. And one thing in particular: Ukraine needs help. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (46) once again called on Western allies to supply his country with more ammunition and weapons with a longer range. The conquest of Avdiivka by the Russians is the best example. It currently looks bad for further deliveries.

The US has been Ukraine’s largest donor since the start of the war. In Washington, a further aid package worth 60 billion dollars (about 55.7 billion euros) has been blocked for months by opposition Republicans, at the insistence of former US President Donald Trump, who wants to seek re-election in November.

Putin sees 2024 as an opportunity to turn the tide of the war in his favor, says Tatiana Stanovaya, founder of consultancy R.politik. “He expects a temporary shortage of Western military support, as ammunition production will not be ramped up again until early 2025,” she wrote on her Telegram channel. Moreover, American support could erode in the run-up to the elections.

Source: Blick