Foreign media ‘Putin prepares to flee to South America in preparation for loss’
Foreign media reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin had summoned military commanders in charge of the war in Ukraine to gather views on the direction of the operation. Some observers say that President Putin, who was recently rumored to be ‘walking out the door’, is preparing an operation to escape to South America in case he loses office.
According to Reuters on the 17th, President Putin summoned about 10 military commanders the day before to hear their views on the direction of the war in Ukraine. According to a video released the same day by the Russian Kremlin, President Putin visited the military command headquarters and met with senior generals, including Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov. Reuters reported that President Putin said at this meeting: “I would like to hear suggestions on operations that are needed immediately and in the medium term.”
The military commander’s call came amid doubts about Putin’s recent non-attendance at official events. The US New York Times (NYT) analyzed that “Putin’s aim is to show clearly that he is interested in advancing the war.” British newspaper The Times recently reported that President Putin has canceled all his annual press conferences and “conversations with the people” and that he was preparing for Operation Noah’s Ark, in which he fled to South America in preparation to defeat and resignation in the war.
Former Putin’s speechwriter Abbas Galyamov, a political commentator, quoted an unnamed Kremlin source on Telegram as saying “Putin is preparing an escape operation in Argentina or Venezuela if he faces a serious threat.”
As the end of the year approaches, Ukraine steps up its offensive against Russia. On the 17th the NYT reported that it had attempted to eliminate the commander in chief of the Russian army despite dissuasion from the United States. The US government, which obtained information about Russian Chief of Staff Gerasimov’s visit to the front lines, did not inform Ukraine of this information out of fear of an escalation of the war. However, Ukraine recognized this differently and pursued an attack on Gerasimov. The US government has called for “the strike to be cancelled,” but the Ukrainian government has responded that it has “already launched the operation,” the NYT reported. The New York Times reported in May that Ukrainian forces attempted a concentrated attack on Chief of Staff Gerasimov in April.
Paris = Correspondent Cho Eun-ah achim@donga.com
