Russian president said that areas of interest have already been occupied, but he did not rule out an eventual operation targeting the Ukrainian capital
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that, according to the country’s current objectives, there is no need for a mobilization of Russian forces to take Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.
According to the Russian leader, the offensive is no longer essential because Russia’s areas of interest have already been occupied. Putin was referring to the territories in eastern Ukraine, which include the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as Mariupol, a city in southern Ukraine that gives access to the Sea of Azov. He, however, did not rule out the possibility of conquering the Ukrainian capital.
“Our troops are out of Kiev. […] Do we need to go back there or not? Why am I asking this rhetorical question? Obviously, you don’t have an answer for that. Only I can answer that. But, depending on our goals, we must decide on mobilization. However, there is no need for that today.”he said.
The declarations (full – 237 KB, in English) from the President of Russia were given during a two-hour conversation with 18 journalists and war correspondents. The event was held on Tuesday (June 13, 2023) at the Kremlin Palace in Moscow.
On the occasion, Putin also spoke about Ukraine’s counter-offensive to retake territories in the east and south of the country, such as the cities of Shakhtarsk and Zaporizhzhia.
“The enemy has not been successful in any sector. They suffered heavy losses. Good thing for us. I will not give the number of personnel losses. I will let the Ministry of Defense do it after raising the numbers, but the size of the losses is also unfavorable for them”he said.
Here are other highlights of Putin’s remarks to journalists:
- tank losses: “As for our losses […] I said they lost over 160 tanks and we lost 54, some of which can be restored and repaired”;
- Weapon shortage: “Of course, during the special military operation, it became clear that we don’t have a lot of things. This includes high-precision munitions, communications systems, air vehicles, drones, and so on. We have [os equipamentos]but unfortunately the numbers are not enough”;
- dam destruction: “It is clear who is to blame. Ukraine worked on it. […] unfortunately, this ruined his counter-offensive in that direction. Why unfortunately? Because it would have been better for us if they had launched their offensive there [cidade de Nova Kakhovka, onde fica a usina hidrelétrica].[Seria] better for us because it would have been a bad offensive position for them. But that didn’t happen because of the flood“;
- attacks on the Kremlin: “[…] the traditional air defense system is calibrated for missiles, for large aircraft. As a rule, drones are made of modern and lightweight materials, made of wood, and are quite difficult to detect. But they are being detected. Although it is necessary to carry out the corresponding work [para] detect them in time. And this, of course, is being done and will definitely be done as far as Moscow and other major centers are concerned. I have no doubt of that.”
#Kiev #Putin