Russian President Vladimir Putin has canceled his traditional end-of-year press conference over fears it will be “hijacked” by anti-war protesters, according to British intelligence.
It will be the first time in a decade that the Q&A – normally a fixture on Moscow’s political calendar – will not take place.
In its latest update on the conflict in Ukraine, the British Ministry of Defense said: “The cancellation is likely due to growing concerns about the prevalence of anti-war sentiment in Russia.”
They added: “Kremlin officials are almost certainly extremely sensitive to the possibility that any event Putin attends could be hijacked by unauthorized talk of a ‘special military operation.’
The cancellation came as Russian spokesman Dimitri Peskov admitted that “no one likes us” as there is evidence that Putin’s military strategy will not go according to plan.
Ukraine has successfully reclaimed 54% of the land captured by Russia since its invasion in February.
And in its assessment of the war yesterday, the Ministry of Defense said: “Russia’s strategy is currently unlikely to achieve its objectives. It is highly unlikely that the Russian military can currently generate an effective strike force capable of recapturing these areas.
“Russian ground forces are unlikely to make significant operational progress in the coming months.”
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