‘Where is Vladimir Putin?’, Russian ex-commander says: ‘He’s an Egyptian mummy’

Former commander of separatist forces in Ukraine’s Donbas region Igor Girkin condemned Russian president Vladimir Putin comparing him to an Egyptian mummy. Igor Girkin, also known as Strelkov, who rose to prominence after 2014, has repeatedly condemns the Russian military and Putin for how they are conducting Ukraine’s invasion.

In a video tweeted by Ukrainian internal affairs adviser, Anton Gerashchenko, Igor Girkin appeared to read out a question about whether the Russian president was able to “break his promise not to kill Zelensky.”

Smirking, the blogger said that “based on Putin’s behavior, the question that I have is, is there Putin at all?”

“How is it possible, the supreme-commander-in-chief withdrew himself from the war? People from his inner circle are openly fighting among themselves and undermining the stability of the front with their actions, but he does not react in any way,” Igor Girkin said.

“And where is he anyway?” he asked, saying that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov always insists “that something is being reported to him.”

“Well, you can also report to mummies,” he added saying “a mummy lies” and “the mummy is silent,” concluding that “the outcome is clear.”

“This is what the behavior of the supreme commander-in-chief looks like in our country,” he said.

This comes as Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive had started but Kyiv “did not reach their aims in any area of combat”. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s forces said that they had made advances on parts of the frontline near Bakhmut.