Vladimir Putin to make ‘very important announcement’ on Ukraine war

Vladimir Putin is set to make a “very important” announcement on the war in Ukraine, according to a Russian official.

Vladimir Putin to make ‘very important announcement’ on Ukraine war. Picture: Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/AFP

Vladimir Putin will make a “very important” announcement tomorrow on the war in Ukraine, a pro-Russian official has claimed.

The Russian President will reportedly make a statement on the war as part of events marking 80 years since the siege of Leningrad – now St Petersburg – in World War II.

Vladimir Rogov, a pro-Putin official appointed by the Russians to run the occupied Zaporizhzhia region in Ukraine, claimed Mr Putin will make the “important” speech tomorrow in St Petersburg, The Sun reports.

Mr Rogov is the chairman of the We Are Together with Russia group which advocates for the occupied regions to be absorbed into the Russian Federation.

He made the announcement on his Telegram channel, but there has been no official confirmation from the Kremlin.

Russian officials have often teased announcements by Mr Putin – but a flurry of last minute cancellations of events, visits and speeches often make the President’s movements hard to track.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin will reportedly make an announcement about the Ukraine war tomorrow. Picture: Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/AFP

Mr Putin had been expected to be in St Petersburg this week, and reportedly was due to attend a flower laying ceremony at the Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad.

The German army besieged the city from September 1941 to January 1944.

Wednesday marks 80 years since Russians managed to open a narrow corridor through the blockade on January 18, 1943.

It was a key part of Russia’s victory in World War II and a seemingly apt time to make an announcement concerning the future of the war, considering the Kremlin has repeatedly claimed the invasion is part of its bid for the “denazification” of Ukraine.

Rumours continue over Russian President

While the nature of what Mr Putin’s announcement could be is unknown, speculation continues to swirl around the Russian leader.

State media reports Mr Putin has submitted a draft law for the “termination of international treaties” with Europe – which could be connected with the reported “announcement”.

Mr Putin has also long been rumoured to be ill, with speculation that he may be suffering with cancer and Parkinson’s, and talk is growing about the leader possibly retiring this year.

Russia continues to be bogged down in the war, pushed back on most fronts and now locked in grinding, brutal and muddy warfare with Ukraine.

The Russian leader is also facing difficulties over his country’s economic woes, admitting during a meeting on Tuesday that the economy was likely to have shrunk by 2.5 per cent in 2022.

Mr Putin’s future is now believed to be tied to the war’s success of failure.

Vladimir Rogov claimed Vladimir Putin is due to make an announcement tomorrow on the war in Ukraine. Picture: YouTube/Pravda

War could escalate further

Fears also continue to loom that Russia could further escalate the conflict, either with another large mobilisation or potentially using new devastating weapons such as nuclear missiles.

Ukrainian residents continue to be terrorised by the Russian attacks, with 60 people feared dead after Putin’s troops dropped a missile meant for sinking aircraft carriers on an apartment block in Dnipro on Sunday.

It has been reported that Putin has ordered his new top general, Valery Gerasimov, to take control of the Donbas by March.

General Gerasimov was installed as the campaign floundered under “General Armageddon” Sergey Surovikin.

But the Kremlin was left furious after Britain committed to send tanks to Ukraine.

“The message we’re sending to Putin – and, frankly, anyone else that cares to be watching – is that we made a commitment to support Ukrainians until they are victorious,” UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said.

“What Putin should understand is we are going to have the strategic endurance to stick with them until the job is done and the best thing that he can do to preserve the lives of his own troops is to recognise that.”

This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as Vladimir Putin to make ‘very important announcement’ on Ukraine war