After months of setbacks on battlefield in ukraine, Russia Russian President Vladimir Putin It seemed that he was now left to prove his mettle by getting into dust with his subordinates.
The Russian leader appeared to lose it briefly on Wednesday Meeting with government officials. The breaking point came when Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov publicly corrected Putin after he complained that some companies had yet to secure contracts to build new aircraft this year — a daunting task given that the country was cut off from many crucial Western imports in construction.
Footage of the meeting shows that Manturov quickly replied that “investment projects” were under way, but Putin held him back, annoyed that it was “taking too long”.
“There are no orders even for 2023 at some enterprises,” he said — only to be corrected again when Manturov told him that “all companies” had orders for this year and “the Ministry of Defense confirmed the number.”
Trying to maintain his composure, Putin once again insisted that he was right, and Manturov was wrong.
After the Minister of Trade and Industry corrected him for the third time, the Russian president finally flipped.
“Let’s finish this, what’s the point of sparring here with you? The managers said to me [there are no contracts]. Really, why are you playing the fool? Manturov scolded and demanded that he get the job in a month’s time and “not later”.
Russian state media appeared to be seizing on the confrontation to manipulate Putin’s image, reporting him dressed as Manturov but dropping the trade minister’s initial comments that there were indeed contracts for this year.
Putin also used the meeting as an opportunity to declare that all “problems” related to the so-called “special military operation” against Ukraine will be resolved soon.
Meanwhile, he claimed that the country had not experienced any repercussions as a result of the war.
“None of what our enemy predicted happened to us. And this, of course, is primarily due to the citizens of Russia, their composure, all our composure, our readiness for challenges and work in difficult conditions.
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