 Putin is trying to hide and cancels a conference. Russian President Vladimir Putin is avoiding public events over concerns that he may be unable to effectively sell his narrative on the war in Ukraine, according to the Institute for the Study of War, ISW. An ISW report published indicates that Putin may not deliver an important address to the Russian state Duma, which has been compared to the U.S. state of the Union address. Until next year, amid mounting criticism of the war, the Russian president last gave his address in April 2021. ISW said Putin is uncertain of his ability to shake the Russian information space, but may still hope to deliver a grandiose victory speech in 2023. The speech was likely postponed initially over military failures, ISW said. While sustained criticism of Putin's partial troops mobilization and excitation of Ukrainian regions that Russia does not control and other actions during the war could be responsible for the continued postponement. The report speculates that Putin is avoiding the speech because it would force him to admit that Russia cannot achieve his frequently restated maximalist aims in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced this week that Putin was cancelling his annual end of year press conference. No reason for the cancellation was given, although the spokesman said the president will still find an opportunity to speak with journalists. Suggested on Wednesday that the press conference decision was probably in attempt to avoid answering questions about Russia's military failures without resorting to excessively obvious manipulation of questioners and questions. Putin appears to be increasingly turning to scripted and prerecorded appearances, ISW said. The cancellation of the press conference, however, may undermine Putin's populist appeal as a ruler and touch with his population. The decision to cancel Putin's press conference and to continue to postpone his Duma address come admit reports of heavy Russian casualties and low soldier morale in Ukraine.