As the Russian troops fled, he started a new Ferris wheel. Putin faces criticism from his biggest supporters – Denník N

Vladimir Putin faces not only the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the Kharkiv region, but also criticism from his biggest supporters, writes the New York Times. In recent days, pro-Russian channels on Telegram have repeatedly criticized the Kremlin, which, according to them, organizes pompous celebrations in Moscow instead of helping at the front or simply does not inform about its failures on the battlefield. Photo – tasr/ap The anger of pro-Russian bloggers showed that even though Putin has successfully eradicated almost the entire liberal and pro-democratic opposition on the domestic stage, he is still at risk of criticism from the conservative wing, writes the American daily. The Russian president, as well as Defense Minister Segey Shoigu, kept silent about Saturday’s collapse of the Russian army even on Sunday, notes the Guardian. They are shocked and angry after the offensive “Most (of pro-Russian bloggers) are in shock and didn’t think this could happen,” said Dmitry Kuznets of the Meduza website. “I think most of them are really upset,” he added. Widely followed pro-Russian bloggers on Telegram, which, unlike Facebook or Instagram, works without restrictions in Russia, support the Kremlin’s official position, according to which Russian soldiers are fighting “Nazis” in Ukraine. However, some bloggers – often operating on the battlefield with Russian soldiers – provide more detailed and, according to analysts, more accurate information about the situation on the front than the Russian authorities. According to pro-Russian channels, the Russian Ministry of Defense underestimates the Ukrainians and does not inform about the failure of its units. As long as the Russian military plays down its failures, Russians “will stop trusting the Ministry of Defense, and soon the entire government,” one of the bloggers, Yuriy Podoljaka, told his more than two million followers. Putin preferred to talk about the Ferris wheel Putin’s opening of the new Ferris wheel in Moscow on Saturday drew particularly loud criticism on the networks. The coverage of the state-run Russian media was in sharp contrast to the information on Telegram, where Ukrainian and pro-Russian channels reported on the rapid advance of Kyiv in the Kharkiv region and the escape of Russian troops from the occupied territory. “It is important for people to be able to relax with family and friends,” Putin said in Moscow at the opening of the 140-meter high, “unique” attraction. “They organized a holiday worth billions,” one pro-Russian blogger wrote in a widely shared post on Saturday. “The army has no thermal cameras, no bulletproof vests, no reconnaissance equipment, no first-aid kits,” the blogger fumed, noting that the current situation at the front is a failure for Russian forces. Moscow Can’t Admit Failure Blame the Russian Defense Ministry’s inability to admit failure, “Russia’s information space is collapsing,” the US Institute for the Study of War wrote in a report on Sunday. The official media offers the Russians a wide variety of confused explanations for the situation on the front, such as that Russian forces are fighting the entire “collective West” or downplaying the importance of supply lines disrupted by Ukraine. The institute also mentions the backlash from pro-Russian bloggers and Russian nationalists in light of Ukraine’s current military success. The silence of the Russian Ministry of Defense is “a betrayal of the soldiers who fought and are still fighting” in Ukraine, one of them wrote. (nyt, čtk)