The only way Putin knows how to handle bad news is to escalate the situation until the other side gives in, Chris Le Carlin said.

Putin is like a bad poker player who has always played with a crooked deck of cards at home, until he invaded Ukraine.

Now he’s finding he’s got at best a low pair with the other player signalling a straight flush.

There is almost certainly the clearest sign that he’s bluffing.

Putin is egoistic and psychopathic enough to probably try to do some other awful things before he’s finally carried out of the Kremlin to the war crimes court.

AI Klen believes that his mobilisation speech was intended for consumption by Russian citizens, and as such, sounds totally ridiculous to anyone not raised on the Soviet lies.

His speech appears to be describing the situation to save his arse, seeking internal support and justify his threads by making others responsible.