At a reception in the Kremlin, Putin gives a celebratory speech about the war in Ukraine. A video of the scene caused wild speculation on the internet. Did the Kremlin chief look too deep into a glass?
At an event in the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin defended the airstrikes on Ukraine's infrastructure. "There is a lot of noise about our attacks on the neighboring country's energy system right now," the 70-year-old told soldiers on Wednesday. "Yes, we do, but who started it? Who attacked the Crimean bridge? Who blew up the power lines of the Kursk nuclear power plant?"
Putin then claimed that Kyiv would not provide water to the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk. This is an "act of genocide". "Nobody says a word about it," said the Kremlin chief. "But as soon as we take a step, in response to something, there's a burst of noise and chatter across the universe," Putin said. "But that will not prevent us from achieving our military goals."
As can be seen in a published video, Putin clutched a champagne glass during his speech, rocked from one leg to the other and kept grinning at everyone. The scene is fueling speculation online that the Kremlin chief may have drunk too much. Publicist and Ukraine expert Euan MacDonald tweeted: "Putin, apparently drunk at today's Russian military awards ceremony, is messing up his Kremlin propaganda lies - it's supposed to be Crimea that Ukraine is denying water, not Donetsk."
Author and Russia expert Anders Aslund commented on Twitter: This is the first time I've seen Putin drunk in any context. He's always talking nonsense, but he seems to realize that he's a failure." Unlike his predecessor Boris Yeltsin, Putin is not known as a regular drinker. On the contrary. The 70-year-old has presented himself to the Russian population as healthy and athletic statesman.
