Ukraine, Vladimir Putin | This portrait of Putin is causing a stir:

On Friday, Vladimir Putin awarded the “Hero of Russia” award to more than 200 Russian soldiers, in addition to civilians, who, according to the Kremlin, showed “special courage, or performed a heroic act.”

Putin has sold himself as a “macho man,” and over the years has lashed out willingly while hunting, fishing, practicing judo, and playing ice hockey. However, the thing that is supposed to be a sore point for Putin is his height. It’s not easy to tell how high Putin is by searching the web, however Wikipedia He is estimated to be 170 cm tall, but some claim he is as short as 155 cm. In an article from 2014, British tabloid daily Mail Fixed that Putin is 170 cm tall.

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The photo from the award ceremony, in which Putin is photographed with 12 award participants, caused many people’s eyes to widen. One Twitter user He wonders if the selection criteria for a photo shoot with Putin is height, or perhaps the lack of it.

– Not by chance

Lieutenant Colonel of the Norwegian Defense College, Geir Hagen Carlsen, has followed the war in Ukraine closely from day one. In addition to being an expert on war and what happens on the battlefield, he is also an expert on propaganda and information warfare.

– The image may not have been randomly generated, Carlsen tells Netavien.

It is true that it is not uncommon to classify people in a group photo by height, and Carlsen says that he himself participated in this during the lineups in a military context.

Russia bet that Putin would be a great leader. They sold a story that he had taken control of a country that had been in chaos for just over 20 years, but had been resolved both internally and externally, says Carlsen.

When Vladimir Putin took over as President from Boris Yeltsin on New Year’s Eve 1999, he inherited Russia in shambles. Many felt that the powerful country had fallen into disarray and lost international recognition. For many, the personification of this was the alcoholic Boris Yeltsin.

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After Vladimir Putin took over as president, so did the Russians The standard of living It improved year by year, until 2014. The standard of living of Russians has gradually worsened since then, NTB wrote in January this year, because Western countries adopted sanctions against the country. The background to the sanctions at the time was Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea.

– For many Russians, Putin became the image that Russia was strong and internationally respected, but with the war that may have changed, Lieutenant Colonel Carlsen tells Netavisen.

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Tough fights

Sunday marks a month since Russian forces withdrew from the regional capital Kherson, and since then the front line has remained largely stable, with only minor changes. This does not mean that the war took a winter break.

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– There are tough battles in many places. Although the front line does not move much there are many small battles and a lot of artillery fire with heavy casualties on both sides. The war we are seeing now is similar to World War I, Carlsen tells Netaviesen.

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One of the things that makes it difficult for both sides to conquer the ground is the weather. The ground hasn’t frozen yet, so it’s muddy and hard to get to. Temperatures in Ukraine are different, there are night frosts in several places with temperatures dropping to minus two digits degrees, while during the day they can reach plus two digits degrees.

– We will not see any Ukrainian attack until the tide subsides, but then we will see if the Ukrainians are able to do something. I doubt the Russians will be able to attack. Carlsen says it seems most of the newly mobilized are sent straight to the front to dig trenches.

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trenching;

It is believed that the Russians will try to withdraw the best trained soldiers from the front, and use them to build new divisions that can launch new offensives in winter or spring.

– The Russians are also taking a number of steps to accelerate industrial capacity, so that they can produce and repair equipment that is in poor condition. Unlike the West, they put society on alert for war. This is also an industrial war, says Carlsen, in which huge amounts of ammunition and equipment are used.

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Watch the video: artillery shelling, donated by a Norwegian, of a Russian drone

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