Vladimir Putin has called the situation in Ukraine “extremely complicated”. Video / The Guardian
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been accused of using “paid actors”, with analysts spotting a “mystery woman” who keeps appearing alongside him, seemingly in different guises, during public appearances.
Belarusian journalist Tadeusz Giczan was the first to point out the woman flanking Putin in several photographs, including ones with soldiers, sailors on a boat, and worshippers attending a religious service.
She was most recently spotted beside Putin in full army kit, as he raised a glass of champagne to praise Russia’s war efforts in a New Year speech.
In that speech, Putin said Russia “was driven to the point of either surrendering everything or fighting”, as fresh strikes hit the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on New Year’s Day.
“As long as we have people like you ... of course nothing can be given up,” he said.
In past photos dating back years, the same woman can be seen in hi-vis gear on a sailing boat Putin used for a publicity shot. She is also joined by three other male figures who also appear to have made multiple appearances in Russian propaganda.
The trio were recognised in a number of other pieces of footage by analysts — including a camping trip and a breakfast conference.
Putin’s speech came as the Ukrainian capital and other cities came under fire from missiles and Iranian-made drones on Saturday, killing three people, and a new attack on Sunday killed one in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia.
The capital was once again rocked by an air raid on Monday morning, with the city’s military administration ordering residents just after 1am local time to retreat to bomb shelters.
“The air defence [system] is working. As of this minute, 16 air targets already have been shot down over the capital,” it announced on the messaging app Telegram.
“The air alert continues, stay in shelters!”
An emergency worker walks in front of a damaged hotel following a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on December 31, 2022. Photo / AP
Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported an explosion in Kyiv’s northeastern Desnyanskyi district and said emergency services had been dispatched.
“An injured 19-year-old man was hospitalised in the Desnyanskyi district of the capital,” he said.
Russia’s New Year attacks had targeted downtown areas of large cities, said Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Podolyak said the attacks showed a change in Moscow’s tactics. “Russia no longer has any military goals and is trying to kill as many civilians as possible and destroy more civilian facilities,” he tweeted.
“A war to kill.” The attacks came as Putin’s invasion of Ukraine enters its 11th month.
From the New Year’s attacks, local governors and officials reported one death each in Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia region; in the capital Kyiv; in the southern region of Kherson and in the western city of Khmelnytskyi.
