WEAK MAN OF RUSSIA
‘Rattled’ Putin’s body language reveals deep fear over Ukraine invasion as he nervously twitches & rubs hands
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also revealed the reason for the invasion
VLADIMIR Putin has been labelled "hesitant" and "rattled" as the Russian tyrant grapples with Ukraine's surprise invasion.
Kyiv's troops launched a shock offensive into the Kursk region last week and have now progressed up to 18 miles (30km) into Vlad's territory, ruffling the president's feathers.
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Footage has since emerged of a nervous Vlad addressing Russia's security and defence chiefs.
He appears unsteady as he twitches and rubs his hands together.
International Institute for Strategic Studies senior researcher Nigel Gould-Davies said the 71-year-old looked "rattled".
Gould-Davies wrote on X: "Putin discussing Ukraine’s incursion into Russia, which he says the West is behind.
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"He looks and sounds not angry, outraged, determined — but hesitant and rattled."
Body language pro Professor Erik Bucy told The Sun that Putin was uncharacteristically speaking with "a halting and unconvincing delivery".
He said: "These clips of Putin depict a leader who has been knocked off balance.
"He comes across as both nonchalant and unconvinced by what he is saying, like a salesman reading a prepared script for the first time.
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"For a warlord intent on dominating Ukraine and other neighbouring countries, Putin seems uncharacteristically subdued and preoccupied.
"Lacking conviction, he is clearly just reading whatever someone had just put in front of him."
Fresh blow for Putin as Ukraine continues to storm across border & MORE Russians surrender
He also claims Vlad was agitated by his cronies in the Kremlin as he spoke in a quick fashion while pointing erratically and rubbing his hands.
The professor added: "Putin attempts to micromanage the situation in Kursk and Belgorod but appears impatient, agitated and even nervous as he attempts to project leadership.
"Together, these nonverbal displacement behaviours signal a level of discomfort with the situation and conflicting motivations; in other word, a type of nervous uncertainty.
"Visibly, he comes across as more dismissive and desperate than domineering and decisive, not a firm hand capably guiding Russian forces."
The Kyiv Post also took to X, boasting that their enemy was "visibly nervous".
It comes after footage last week circulated of Vlad being told by military chiefs that his country had been invaded.
Army bosses told their leader up to Ukrainian troops had crossed the border, appearing to infuriate him.
Nail-biting footage captured Vlad at the head of a long table flanked by his Kremlin cronies.
For a warlord intent on dominating Ukraine and other neighbouring countries, Putin seems uncharacteristically subdued and preoccupied
Professor Erik Bucy
On a screen at the other end of the room General Valery Gerasimov said: "Units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, numbering up to 1,000 men, went on the offensive in order to seize a section of territory in the Sudzhinsky district of Kursk region."
A snarling Putin raged: “As you know, the Kyiv regime has undertaken another large-scale provocation.
"It is firing indiscriminately from various types of weapons, including rockets, at civilian buildings, residential houses and ambulances."
Since then, Volodymyr Zelensky's forces have surged deeper into Russia in what is widely seen as a possible bid to divert Kremlin troops away from under-fire Ukraine regions and towns.
Kyiv claims it has thrown thousands of troops into Russia, forcing mass evacuations.
Kursk citizens - some 76,000 - were rushed out of the region from last week but now residents in the neighbouring Belgorod have also been asked to leave.
Russian state media reported as many as 11,000 Belgorod locals were given orders to leave.
President Zelensky said his troops aimed to take the conflict into "the aggressor's territory".
He said the Russians had been launching thousands of attacks from Kursk and it was finally time for his forces to storm in to stop them.
This is the biggest attack the Ukrainians have launched on Vlad's turf.
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Vlad on Monday insisted Moscow would eventually push the Ukrainians back despite the fierce fighting boiling on.
He said Ukraine's offensive appeared a ploy to gain leverage at the negotiating table for potential peace talks.
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