Ukrainian presidential aide: Putin has lost touch with reality

[February 21, 2023]   KYIV (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin's speech to Russia's political and military elite on Tuesday showed he has lost touch with reality, a senior aide to Ukraine's president said.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a political adviser to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaks during an interview with Reuters, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 6, 2022. REUTERS/Anna Voitenko

In his speech, Putin said he would continue with Russia's year-long war in Ukraine and accused the U.S.-led NATO alliance of fanning the flames of the conflict in the mistaken belief that it could defeat Moscow in a global confrontation.

"He is in a completely different reality, where there is no opportunity to conduct a dialogue about justice and international law," Mykhailo Podolyak, a political adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, told Reuters.

"Russia is at a dead end. In the most desperate situation. Everything that Russia will do next will only worsen its situation."

Podolyak said Putin was demonstrating confusion and a lack of understanding of the situation, and that this would lead to more difficulties for Russia in the near future.

"This means that chaos both on the battlefield and inside Russia will grow," he said.

Throughout the war, Ukrainian officials have talked up the significance of internal divisions within Russia.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Writing by Max Hunder and Tom Balmforth, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

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