When Vladimir Putin stood on a Red Square podium Monday, at the annual celebration of the Soviet victory in World War II over Nazi Germany, he looked weak and defensive.
Putin didn’t use his speech, as many were expecting, to formally declare war on Ukraine. He didn’t call for a mass mobilization, or repeat threats to use nuclear weapons. Nor did he talk of Russian “victories” in Ukraine.
In a telling indication of how badly things are going for Putin, the Russian military chief, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, who should have been standing next to his Kremlin boss, was noticeably absent. Gerasimov was reportedly wounded when visiting the front lines at the end of April.
