Putin will 'avoid' Ukraine war in his 2024 presidential campaign - ISW
The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said this in a new Russian offensive campaign assessment, Ukrinform reports.
"Russian President Vladimir Putin will reportedly avoid centering his 2024 presidential campaign on the war in Ukraine and will rather focus on Russia's alleged stability and criticisms of the West," ISW analysts said.
According to two sources close to the Russian presidential administration, the presidential campaign aims to paint Putin as a leader who made Russia an "island of calm."
"Meduza sources claimed that Putin's ratings increase after speeches in which he criticizes the West and that Russian state propaganda will encourage this by increasingly publishing stories about 'difficulties' in Western countries and the United States' alleged inability to support Ukraine and Israel simultaneously," the report reads.
The campaign would only discuss the war in Ukraine if there were a "very serious Russian success" on the front instead of continued "positional warfare."
ISW analysts said that the Kremlin-backed United Russia Party also reportedly realized that using the war in Ukraine in their election campaigns in the run up to the September 2023 State Duma elections was ineffective and counterproductive.
"Concerns within the Kremlin and United Russia over domestic support for the war are not indications that United Russia or Putin’s dominance of Russian politics faces a legitimate threat in the upcoming presidential election, however," the report said.
Photo: epa.eu
