Putin arrived in central Moscow in a Russian-made SUV, dressed casually, carrying flowers, and embraced his former schoolteacher Vera Gurevich in a hotel lobby. He helped her into his car and drove her to dinner at the Kremlin, with the meeting televised to reinforce an image of an approachable, confident leader. The event followed Western claims based on a European intelligence report that Putin had been hiding in an underground bunker due to fears of assassination or a coup. While the bunker narrative is likely exaggerated, Putin is entering a more difficult phase. People around him and business sources describe an isolated leader surrounded by an elite that is rapidly losing faith, disappointed by the faltering war in Ukraine and worsening economic conditions, with a growing sense of looming catastrophe and self-destructive decisions.
"Putin pulled up to a hotel in central Moscow earlier in May in a Russian-made SUV, dressed casually in jeans and a light jacket. Carrying a bouquet of flowers, he walked unhurriedly into the lobby and embraced his former schoolteacher Vera Gurevich, who kissed him on both cheeks. He then helped Gurevich into his car and drove her to dinner at the Kremlin."
"Interviews with several people in the orbit of the Russian leader, as well as sources in the Russian business world and western intelligence officials, paint a picture of an isolated leader surrounded by an elite that is becoming rapidly disillusioned, both with the faltering war in Ukraine and the economic downturn at home."
Read at www.theguardian.com
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