Zelensky Aide: "Putin Trembling with Anxiety After Kherson Withdrawal"

Strong Criticism from Russian Hardliners over Strategic Stronghold Surrender
"Russia Will Not Forgive the Tsar Defeated in War"

Russian President Vladimir Putin is participating in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) regular meeting held on the 23rd (local time) in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. Photo by AP Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] As Russia recently withdrew from the strategically important southern city of Kherson, claims have emerged that Russian President Vladimir Putin has suffered such a severe psychological blow that he feels his life is under threat.

On the 23rd (local time), according to the British newspaper The Times, Oleksiy Arestovych, an advisor to the Ukrainian president and a close aide, said, "Russia does not forgive a defeated Tsar (the title for emperors during Imperial Russia)," adding, "That is why President Putin is very afraid."

Advisor Arestovych stated, "He (Putin) is now fighting with his life on the line," and "If he loses this war, at least in the hearts of Russians, it means the end. This applies both politically and physically." He further pointed out, "Even those who are very loyal to Putin have begun to doubt whether Russia can win this war following the withdrawal from Kherson."

Russia announced on the 9th that it would withdraw from Kherson and establish a new defensive line. After losing occupied territories such as Kharkiv and Lyman in succession, and recently abandoning the strategically important Kherson area that connects to the Crimean Peninsula, criticism from some hardliners within Russia has increased. According to the New York Times (NYT) on the 13th, Russian right-wing thinker Aleksandr Dugin indirectly expressed dissatisfaction with the current situation in an article posted on the conservative Tsargrad TV website, stating, "The primary duty of an authoritarian leader is to protect the people and territory he governs," and "The Russian authorities cannot yield to anything else. They are reaching their limits."

Advisor Arestovych explained Russia's attacks on Ukraine's key infrastructure by saying, "Russia is trying to intimidate Ukraine and Western allies through these attacks to solidify its dominance over Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk, which are currently under Russian control." This indicates that a cornered Putin is attempting to justify the war to the Russian people.

Recent consecutive airstrikes by Russian forces have damaged half of Ukraine's power facilities, and three nuclear power plants have ceased operations. On this day, 67 missiles launched by Russian forces caused power outages across all regions of Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.