Putin clutches the desk as the general, deadpan, announces that the Ukrainians are welcoming their troops

Vladimir Putin, grimacing, clutches his desk tightly as his most trusted general solemnly reports that invaded Ukrainians are showing their “support” for occupying Russian soldiers.

The surreal scene shows a Kremlin meeting between the Russian dictator – who once chewed his lip – and Viktor Zolotov, 68, who, as director of the Russian National Guard, lost thousands of his men in the war.

The famous Putin desk handle was previously thought to be his method of stopping his hand from shaking uncontrollably during his rare public appearances amid suspicions he may have early Parkinson’s disease.

He grasps the table with his right hand, but also once with his left.

The video is unusual in that Solotov mainly enumerates the routine tasks of the National Guard, which Putin has known well since he built the armed forces and is its commander-in-chief.

He only deviates from this to claim that ordinary Ukrainians welcome the Russian invaders.

This is despite estimates that 75,000 Russian soldiers have been lost or maimed.

“I would like to emphasize that we feel support from the residents of the liberated areas,” said Zolotov, despite Ukrainian resistance on the front lines in Ukraine.

Solotov – also an army general who was once Putin’s top bodyguard – is seen as trustworthy by Putin, unlike Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who appears to have lost his trust.

The session comes shortly after independent Russian exile media revealed that Zolotov flew to the Seychelles five years ago in a lavish private jet, accompanied by an army of glamorous women including a British-trained “Emotional Intelligence Coach” and several other senior National Guardsmen.

The trip is seen as controversial because it came a day after pro-Putin tycoon Boris Vaninsky signed a lucrative exclusive business deal to provide the National Guard with food at – allegedly – above market prices.

Vaninsky was also on board the Falcon 7Х business jet for a short vacation in the Seychelles.

Also on board – aged 36 at the time – was Evelina Levieva, aka Evelina Levy, who boasts having been educated at the Emotional Intelligence Academy in Manchester, the Dossier Center said.

She has said, “I do brain plastic surgery. How do I do it?

“I teach people not only to recognize emotions correctly, but also to plan their occurrence in order to then steer them in the right direction.”

It’s unclear how or why she was in paradise with the general, but she said, “I’m not a psychologist, I’m not a matchmaker, and unlike many women, I don’t have to wear a bi-mask.” *h.

“I’m good with myself. I don’t solve your problems, I don’t care about your past.

“It cannot be changed and there is no point in dealing with it.

“I work with your future, change your attitude towards current situations and get you to understand the real sources of negativity in your life.”

After the war broke out – in which Zolotov’s troops lost thousands of men – she urged her supporters not to “panic” or “increase hatred”.

She added, “Let there be peace.”

Zolotov’s grandson was educated at Britain’s Cranleigh School in Surrey alongside close friends with Luiza Rozova, 19, Putin’s secret daughter, who has disappeared from social media since the start of the war in Ukraine.

This is despite Putin’s public hostility towards Russian people enjoying the benefits of life in the West.