Putin plans to declare empty VICTORY in Ukraine despite invasion disaster…but fears Russians will see right through him

VLADIMIR Putin has ordered Russian officials to start preparing how he is going to spin his calamitous Ukrainian war into a "victory".

Russia's presidential office has ordered its cronies to receive "training" on preparing 144million Russians for the end of the bloody conflict.

Kremlin stooges - including governors and civil servants - are being briefed on how to spin a peace deal as a win for Vlad.

Fears of civil unrest upon such a dodgy declaration are also looming large in the minds of the Russian elite.

They fear that such a sputtering end to Vlad's grand plan will result in fury from both sides of the political spectrum.

Russian moderates will be furious about the waste of life, while those more extreme will be raging the war is over without a decisive win.

And that is according to a number of Russian media outlets including daily newspaper and .

It comes as the world awaits to see how the new US President Donald Trump will handle the war after he vowed to end it in 24 hours.

Hero Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has also dropped hints about how an end to the war could be brokered.

With a ceasefire deal potentially in the coming months - the Kremlin are now determined to make sure Vlad comes out of it looking good.

It is claimed Putin's government is working out they can create an "image of victory" for everyday Russians.

Putin has fallen well short of the goal to overthrow Kyiv as he attempted in the early days of the war in February 2022.

Russian troops, tanks and helicopters were smashed against the bulwark of brave Ukrainian defenders.

And after more than 1,000 days the war has now become a brutal slog in the muck as the Russians slowly grind forward in the East.

Kremlin chiefs need to work out to sell billions of rubles of expenses, crippling sanctions and nearly 750,000 casualties as "victory".

Putin occupies around 20 per cent of Ukraine and has held sham referendums in four regions for them to "officially" join Russia.

Russian media outlets reported the Presidential Executive Office of Russia has begun the "victory plans".

It was reportedly discussed with regional governors at a four-day meeting near Moscow.

A source told Kommersant that Russia will be working to make sure the "quiet majority" are happy with Vlad's "victory".

Vlad will try to drown out the "angry patriots" and ";liberals" who will likely object to his plans.

Furious army veterans unhappy with the waste of life - or their own injuries - in the war will be tightly controlled by the Russian state.

Putin will attempt to spin his victory around the nebulous goals of "denazification" and "demilitarisation" of Ukraine.

Trump's incoming administration is believed to pursue a deal were both sides agree to freeze the conflict.

The Russians will be allowed to keep the territory they have annexed, and potentially a DMZ will be set up between the warring powers.

And the DMZ could end up being manned by Nato troops on the Ukrainian side - but not Americans.

Zelenzky revealed that he is prepared to sign a peace deal even if Russia doesn't return stolen territory to Ukraine.

However, he said his country must join the Nato defence alliance if it were to pause fighting with Russia.

He said: "If we want to stop the hot phase of the war, we need to take under the Nato umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control.

"We need to do it fast. And then on the [occupied] territory of Ukraine, Ukraine can get them back in a diplomatic way."

Zelensky said it was key that Nato should "immediately" cover all of the land Kyiv controls, so Putin does not use the peace to prepare for another invasion.

But Russian tyrant Putin has previously ruled out his country agreeing to let Ukraine join Nato.

Zelensky said in the new interview that Ukraine would later try and return any Ukrainian land Russia continues to hold in a "diplomatic way".

Zelensky said in the new interview that Ukraine would try and return any Ukrainian land Russia continues to hold in a "diplomatic way".

The final days of US President Joe Biden's administration saw him permit Ukraine to use long-range ATACMS missiles to strike Russia.

Kyiv has since launched a flurry of attacks - to which Moscow responded by unleashing a new hypersonic weapon "Oreshnik".

Putin has doubled down on his threats - and there are just 49 days left until Trump takes office.

Russia is making gains taking Ukrainian land in the east at a rate of two football fields a minute.

But, the meat grinder is costing Putin thousands of troops with the dictator losing more than 2,000 troops in one day last week.

Vlad's vast manpower and resources though - despite Russia's sanctioned and crumbling economy - allow him to keep pushing on.

Even with Western support, the vastly smaller Ukraine continues to be fighting uphill battle - despite their own victories.

UK Defence Secretary John Healey has warned the 600-mile frontline is now at the most unstable it has been since February 2022.