Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 13 made some of his most extensive comments yet about Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine and its goals.
Ukraine's counterattack
Speaking at a meeting with Russian war correspondents and military bloggers, Mr Putin asserted that Ukraine had suffered “catastrophic” losses in the counter-offensive it was waging.
He said the Ukrainian army had built up reserves to launch a large-scale operation on June 4, but the Kremlin chief claimed the effort had been fruitless and that Ukraine had lost 10 times more soldiers than Russia. Putin’s claim could not be verified, the AP news agency reported.
Mr Putin claimed that Ukraine lost 160 battle tanks and more than 300 other armored vehicles, while Russia lost only 54 tanks. He said that Ukraine's armored losses accounted for 25-30% of the Western armored vehicles supplied to Kiev.
He also noted that German-made Leopard battle tanks and US-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicles “are burning very fast,” adding that leaders in Kiev must now realize the disastrous consequences of the counteroffensive.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with war correspondents in Moscow, June 13, 2023. Photo: TRT World
The White House did not immediately respond to Mr. Putin’s statements. A U.S. official familiar with U.S. intelligence said Mr. Putin’s comments were “inaccurate,” but did not elaborate on how the Russian leader’s statements were false.
Cross-border attacks
In an open meeting that lasted more than two hours with reporters covering Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine and military bloggers, Mr. Putin said that Moscow could respond to what he said were Ukrainian incursions and shelling of border areas by creating a “clean zone” to prevent Kiev from launching such attacks.
This “clean zone” could be expanded to a size sufficient to prevent an adversary from attacking Russian territory, he added.
Asked how far Russia might push into Ukraine, Mr Putin said he would only consider the situation and decide on further steps. He said Russian troops were “already close to Kiev”, referring to the efforts his forces made in the early weeks of the conflict.
A destroyed Leopard 2 tank and Bradley armored personnel carrier in the Zaporizhzhia region as Ukraine launches a counter-offensive to retake territory from Russian forces, June 2023. Photo: The National News
Russian troops withdrew from areas around Kiev and other parts of northeastern Ukraine in March 2022, and withdrew from Kharkiv last fall under pressure from a lightning Ukrainian counteroffensive.
“Should we go back there?” Putin asked, adding cryptically: “Only I can give the answer.”
Referring to the Kakhovka dam collapse in the Kherson region last week, Putin again blamed Ukraine for the catastrophic flooding, saying Ukrainian forces had repeatedly bombarded the dam with HIMARS missiles and eventually apparently used explosives to destroy it.
He argued that Russia had no reason to destroy the dam. “We are certainly not interested in that because it would entail serious consequences for the territories under our control,” he said.
The Russian leader also rejected Ukraine's argument that Moscow blew up the dam to stop Kiev's counterattack.
Peace negotiations
On peace talks, Mr Putin said the fighting would end immediately if the US and NATO stopped supplying weapons to Ukraine, blaming the West for the collapse of a peace deal that Moscow and Kiev had drafted in March 2022. He said the US wanted to see Russia defeated and was pinning its hopes on a Ukrainian counterattack. However, he stressed that Russia was still ready to resume talks.
A French-made self-propelled howitzer moves towards Velyka Novosilka, Donetsk region, as Ukraine launches a counter-offensive to retake territory from Russian forces, June 2023. Photo: WSJ
President Putin also touched on the issue of general mobilization and martial law. He said that general mobilization is not necessary at the moment, but did not rule out such a move. He also noted that he does not see the need to introduce martial law as proposed by some hawks in Russia.
Mr Putin pointed out that Russia's military industries have increased production sharply. He said that the output of Russia's defense industries has increased 2.7 times over the past year and in some key areas it has increased 10 times.
Russian President Putin's lengthy meetings with military bloggers, along with war correspondents from traditional media, were a profound acknowledgement of their importance in communicating the Kremlin's views .
Minh Duc (According to AP, PBS News)
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