Kobzev briefs Putin Troops and Irkutsk plans

Jul 17, 2023

Anastasia Kobyzeva reports Putin's meeting with Irkutsk governor Kobzev. He delivers servicemen's gratitude and recalls Dyakonov's death in Mariupol in March of the previous year, saying he covered a grenade to save comrades. Archival footage shows Dyakonov as a school pupil describing his wish to serve; the reporter mentions a memorial plaque and a planned park. The package describes aid visits, the veterans' foundation and family social passports. It reports investment plans, six MC-21 aircraft in 2024 and mass production in 2025 with 4,500 additional staff, low gasification and a Gazprom project linked to Power of Siberia 2. Putin raises rural healthcare; Kobzev describes staffing and two-million-ruble support, while the reporter discusses clinics and a children's hospital planned for 2025. Plans and recalled actions remain distinct from completed results.

At the July 17 meeting, Putin and Kobzev acknowledge low Irkutsk gasification. Vremya says only nine communities have gas. Kobzev says the region awaits Power of Siberia 2 and describes a Gazprom-related project and industrial demand of seventeen billion cubic metres annually. This is a request and development discussion, not approval, construction or operation of the proposed pipeline.