Putin is dissatisfied with state of war, but he is pleased with state of economy and Russian society - political analyst

He said this on Espreso TV.

"The Kremlin, as you can see very clearly, is counting on something to happen. In particular, for example, the Houthis in the Middle East will create problems, China will start something, the West will somehow decline, Ukrainians will get tired, and so on. It's a state of waiting for something to swing in the Kremlin's direction. But, on the other hand, this is alarming. Because Putin has shown in the past that he can wait for a long time. But at the same time, it is now clear that this war itself has transformed Russian society for the worse. Putin is now in a situation where he will get 85% in his 'elections', i.e. a confidence referendum, in 10 days, with a large turnout," Morozov explained.

According to Morozov, the Russian population is ready to endure any repression by the Putin regime.

"His message to the Federal Assembly shows that he may be dissatisfied with the war and how it is going, but he is satisfied with the state of the Russian economy and the state of Russian society. He likes it. The Russian population has been reborn, has acquired the final form of a conformist society that is ready to go anywhere, to endure any repression against itself. And this is what creates a rather dangerous situation for the Kremlin's next decision," he added.

• During his address to the Federal Assembly, Putin said that Russia has no plans to attack Europe, but has weapons that can hit targets on its territory.
• He also noted that rumours about Russia's deployment of nuclear weapons in space are an attempt to draw Russia into negotiations favourable to the United States.
• ISW analysts noted that Putin used rhetoric about negotiations and nuclear weapons in his recent speech to attract the West's attention.