"It's always the same style. Putin likes to keep everything secret. When he appears publicly, he doesn't say much. He prefers not to be alarmist," said Tatiana Stanovaya, the founder of France-based analytical group R. Politik.
Immediately after Ukraine's attack on Kursk last week, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the General Staff, insisted - falsely - that the Ukrainian assault had been stopped.
Moscow's slow, fumbling military response to Ukraine's surprise occupation of parts of the western Kursk region is the latest example of the Kremlin chief failing to respond with quick, decisive action.
During a televised meeting of security officials on Monday, Putin appeared more rattled than usual as he read remarks from a thick notepad of scrawled black handwriting.
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