The Times) analyze Putin's speech. No strategy for war, but patriotic and nationalistic declaration and no word for victory

He did not announce any general mobilization in Russia, as they had long expected, nor did he say that “option special” was turned into war. In fact, he never mentioned Ukraine by name.

Instead, his relatively brief speech, only 11 minutes, reiterated his insistence that Russia was fighting against NATO and West aggression. He insisted that the West was preparing another “punitive operation in Donbas” and the invasion of Russian historic lands, including Crime. He said NATO had systematically created “an absolutely unacceptable threat to us” that was directly at Russia's borders.

Putin drew an absolute parallel to Nazi Germany's aggression against Russia and summoned patriotism, heroism and sacrifice the Russians had made during World War II to gather his fellow countrymen for what now looked like a long road to Donba.

Putin took a big stop in Russia's history, culture, customs and traditional values and seemed to be being called into her Orthodox faith as well. Having already received the blessing of the Russian Orthodox patriarch, he was clearly trying to link this war with Russia's battles of freedom and soul in the early ages and the protection of the homeland as powerful as he was in World War II. .

This, he knows, would especially attract millions of people to rural Russia, but will also strike a new generation that, even in big cities, is not less nationalist.

He provided no information on Russia's victims, officially declared at around 1,000, but is now estimated by Western intelligence to be over 15,000. But he spoke of his <x0th joint recovery” for the death of each soldier and officer in a clear attempt to ease the growing public concern and he promised that the state would now provide specific measures for their families. The obvious application is that he expects much more victims and that war will drag on for a long time.

The whole talk was addressed to a local audience. It was clearly an attempt to justify an action that has left Russia isolated in the world and confused millions of Russians. He gave little hint of what Russia's war purposes are, how the Kremlin can compensate for a stalled strategy and humiliating military failures, or how Russia will replace so many lost equipment.

This was not an address to warn the West of what Russia could now do. There was no mention of Marioupol or actually any battlefield in Ukraine, except for Donbas, which was already claimed to be Russian historic territory.

In many ways, this was a defence speech that did not show a new opinion on the Kremlin, but was created much to justify Putin's earlier challenge to NATO. It does not predict future escalation. But the fact that mobilization was not mentioned does not mean that it is not being planned or implemented soon if troop shortages become acute.

Observers note that in the last 22 years Putin has never used Victory Day for any important political declarations, but has focused on patriotic and nationalist topics, which are now largely the ideological basis of his leadership. / The Times