Russian forces fired cruise missiles overnight at the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa and destroyed homes in the eastern Donetsk region early Wednesday, killing at least six people and wounding more than a dozen, regional officials said. .
A Ukrainian military spokesman said the Russian military has stepped up airstrikes in its more than 15-month war against Ukraine, with the country’s troops reporting limited gains in the initial retaliatory response.
It came as Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday matched threats of a new Russian offensive to grab more Ukrainian land with statements about the Kremlin’s readiness for peace talks.
Speaking during a far-reaching meeting with Russian military correspondents and war bloggers, he made his most comprehensive comments about the conflict and his goals since sending troops to Ukraine more than 15 months ago. Have a look at some of Putin’s key statements:
Ukrainian counter-offensive
Putin insisted that Ukraine had suffered “catastrophic” losses in its retaliation.
He said that Ukrainian troops amassed reserves to launch a “large-scale” operation on 4 June, but claimed that the effort had failed to make gains and that Ukraine lost 10 times more troops than Russia. Is. His claims could not be verified.
Putin announced that Ukraine lost 160 battle tanks and over 300 other armored vehicles, while Russia lost only 54 tanks. He alleged that the loss of Ukrainian armor represented 25% to 30% of the number of Western armored vehicles supplied to Ukraine. He said with a grin that German-made Leopard battle tanks and US-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicles “are burning really well,” adding that leaders in Kiev now realize the devastating consequences of a retaliatory strike. Should be
considering new land benefits
Putin said that Russia could respond to Ukraine’s alleged incursions and shelling of Russia’s border areas as a “sanitization zone” to prevent Kiev from launching such attacks.
He added that the field would “extend to such a depth that it would prevent it from invading our territory”.
Asked how deep Russia might go into Ukraine, Putin coyly replied, “Everything will depend on the potential that emerges after the so-called retaliatory strike.” “We will look at the situation and decide on our next course of action,” he said. “We have different plans depending on the situation.”
He noted that Russian troops were “already near Kiev,” a reference to a failed attempt by the Kremlin to capture the Ukrainian capital in the early weeks of the conflict.
Russian troops withdrew from areas around Kiev and other areas in Ukraine’s northeast in March 2022, and in the fall they were quickly pulled out of broad areas of the Kharkiv region under the blow of a rapid Ukrainian counter-offensive.
“Should we come back there or not?” Putin cryptically added: “Only I could answer.”
Destruction of the Kakhovka Dam
Putin again blamed Ukraine for the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam, which caused the devastating floods, saying that the Ukrainian military repeatedly fired at the dam with HIMARS rockets and then apparently used explosives to destroy it. . He argued that Russia had no reason to destroy the dam. “We are certainly not interested in this because it has serious consequences for the areas under our control,” he said.
Putin rejected Ukraine’s argument that Moscow blew up the dam to deter Kiev from retaliating, saying Russia would have been happy to see Ukraine try to launch strikes in that area because of the challenging constraints. does.
peace talks
The Russian leader said that it is up to the United States to end hostilities in Ukraine. He argued that if the US and NATO stopped providing arms to Ukraine, the war would end immediately.
“If they want to see a negotiated solution to the conflict, it is enough for them to stop supplying arms,” he said.
Putin said Russian and Ukrainian negotiators had drafted a peace deal in March 2022, but Kiev pushed through the deal under Western pressure. He said that Russia is still ready to start talks.
He said the US wanted to see Russia lose and was pinning its hopes on a Ukrainian retaliatory strike. At the same time, Putin argued that there are “many reasonable people in the US administration who do not want this to lead to a Third World War with no winners.”
new mobilization
Putin, who last ordered the mobilization of 300,000 reservists as Russia faced a Ukrainian counteroffensive, would not rule out a new wave of mobilization, saying it would depend on the evolving military situation. However, he stressed that it is no longer needed. Putin said the army has recruited 156,000 volunteer soldiers so far this year, making it unnecessary to cordon off additional reservists.
He also said that he did not see any need for the introduction of martial law, as suggested by some Russian hawks. Putin pointed out that Russia’s military industries have increased production rapidly. He said that in the last one year the production of Russian defense industries has increased by 2.7 times and in some key areas it has increased by ten times.
(with inputs from AP)
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