Vladimir Putin is trying to militarize Russian society and to shift the responsibility for the war in Ukraine onto the Russian State Duma deputies and the Russian population.
That is according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Ukrinform reports.
Analysts drew attention to Putin's speech on Navy Day on July 26, in which he heavily emphasized the importance of Russia's national unity around the war effort in Ukraine. He claimed that Russia needs to "imbue the consciousness" of its civil society with the importance of the war and to preserve this sense of national unity even after the war ends.
Putin also said that Russian volunteers are eager to help the Russian military and "are worried that Russian forces will no longer need their help in peacetime." According to analysts, this is an attempt to portray the Russian population as willing to continue the war and bear the necessary sacrifices to achieve victory in Ukraine.
During a meeting with State Duma lawmakers on July 27, Putin spoke about the unity of the Russian authorities around the war effort. In particular, he highlighted the Duma's collective vote on laws concerning the "integration" of the occupied territories of Ukraine's Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
