Behind the facade of the "straight line" lies a complete failure of Kremlin policies - Alexander Kovalenko

The direct line of the war criminal Putin… A pathetic spectacle without any hypotheticals.

As usual, the war criminal and concurrently the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, staged yet another performance called "direct line."

Overall, there was nothing surprising or unusual in this one-man show by the war criminal. In previous years, like 2014 and 2015, there was some effort to listen to what was said, trying to grasp the hidden meanings in Putin's messages, some veiled plans, goals, and future actions. However, during this latest direct line, Putin appeared quite predictable, pitiful, and even humorous.

The President of Russia was laughable at least because this direct line is likely to become one of the most record-breaking in terms of the amount of lies, manipulations, and conspiracies he spewed during the long, tedious hours. It was as if Putin was immersed in the comfortable haze of his sick fantasies, from which he never truly emerged. The only interruption came from a question about the Kursk region, where a control zone of the SOU still exists.

Indeed, the Kursk region has become a disgrace for the Russian army. Since August 6, there has been a control zone of the SOU, but interestingly, participants in the battles in Kursk are not considered participants of the "SVO." It's quite a nice corruption scheme concerning a grouping of almost 50,000 bodies.

The question regarding Syria also fell into the unpleasant category, but the overall answer was unsurprising – Russia has achieved its goals there. Something similar will eventually be heard concerning the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, but for now, Putin is practicing on the Syrian topic, which since 2022 has become the most tangible geopolitical and reputational slap to the entire Putin regime.

In other respects, it was the standard ramblings of a mad old man who hardly understands any of the questions posed to him. To claim that the Patriot air defense system is weaker than the S-300, similar to THAAD compared to the S-400? Honestly?

In fact, one could endlessly sift through the nonsensical statements of the Russian president, but the conclusion to this entire performance is clear – Putin, despite all his pomp and bravado, seemed cornered.

While talking about the "victories" of the Russian army, he was actually discussing the stagnation of the entire invasion of Ukraine. Over a year of hostilities, the ROV in Ukraine occupied just over 3,000 square kilometers of territory, whereas by the end of 2022, the occupied territories amounted to 64,000 square kilometers.

Russian troops suffered the highest losses in personnel and equipment in 2024 compared to 2022 and 2023 combined!

Russia has been forced to seek assistance for ammunition, personnel, and even equipment from North Korea!

Yet, Russia has the ephemeral "Oreshnik," which Putin decided to hide behind once again, recalling it like some protective mantra. This looks particularly feeble considering that everyone has long understood what the wunderwaffe of the naked "king" truly represents.

Nonetheless, the cornered and feeble state should not be misleading, as a rat driven into a corner will lash out in desperation. Putin demonstrated enmity and threats towards Western countries in various ways, including sending ambiguous hints to the future U.S. President Donald Trump, from which the new political pool of the White House should already draw appropriate conclusions – it is impossible to appease this rat. Finishing it off is quite feasible.