Silent Kremlin footage shows Putin meeting military chiefs
The Kremlin has released footage showing Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting with Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and his deputy Sergey Rudskoy. BBC notes that the Kremlin's press service posted the video without sound. There are also blurred papers on the table.
There are blurred papers on the table where Vladimir Putin, Valery Gerasimov, and Sergey Rudskoy sit. The film lasts about a minute. According to the Kremlin’s official communication, Gerasimov reported to Putin on the situation in the Kursk region, where the Ukrainian offensive has been ongoing for 33 days.
Silent footage from the Kremlin
Putin is also shown against the backdrop of seven landline phones. The Kremlin claims that Putin "received reports from Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov and Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff Sergei Rudskoy... in the areas of their responsibility" through these phones.
The Russian branch of the BBC claims that, according to reports, the meeting took place at one of the command posts of the Russian Ministry of Defence.
BBC emphasizes that it is difficult to understand how the discussion about the military commanders' report unfolded—the Kremlin’s press service posted a video without sound.
Both Putin and Sergey Lavrov, the head of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have publicly declared multiple times that Russia's response to the attack on the Kursk region will be "very severe."
"The sick old man from Red Square"
During the celebrations of Ukraine's Independence Day, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that "the sick old man from Red Square, who constantly threatens everyone with a red button, will not dictate any of his red lines to us."
"Ukraine and Ukrainians will decide for themselves how to live, what path to follow and what choices to make," said Zelensky on Saturday.
"That is why our enemy will know what Ukrainian retaliation is. Dignified, symmetrical, long-range retaliation. He will know that every point in Russia that is a source of danger to the lives of our state and our people will sooner or later receive a Ukrainian response," the president declared, referring to the Ukrainian military operation in the Kursk region in Russia.
