Vladimir Putin: Russia’s war in Ukraine could be a “protracted process” | Russian President Vladimir Putin

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Vladimir Putin acknowledged that Russia’s war in Ukraine could turn into a “protracted operation” as he sought to defend an invasion in which Russian forces were forced to withdraw and even air bases deep in Russia were attacked.

Speaking to members of his Human Rights Council on Wednesday, Putin claimed Russia would not use nuclear weapons first in any conflict, denied that Russian forces were withdrawing en masse from the battlefield, and claimed he would not need to mobilize more forces. , a process that caused great unrest in Russia.

But the Russian president mainly defended a “special military operation” – his preferred term for what he openly acknowledged was a Russian war of conquest that he compared to the territorial ambitions of previous Russian czars.

“As for the slow process of the military special operation, then, of course, it can be a long-term operation,” Putin said. But then you mentioned new areas popping up. This is an important result for Russia … The Azov Sea has become an internal Russian sea. Even Peter I fought for access to the Azov Sea.

Russia was forced to give up some of those “annexed” territories, notably fleeing the city of Kherson last month due to a brutal counterattack by Ukraine. Russia is now regularly bombing Kherson from the other side of the Dnipro River, in effect attacking what it considers to be its own territory.

The foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, defended the tactic last week by saying that the Russians also bombed Stalingrad during World War II.

A video clip showing the effects of the Russian bombing of Kherson – with video

In his remarks on Wednesday, Putin denied that his administration was planning another round of mass mobilization. He claimed that of the 300,000 Russians mobilized, only half had been sent to the conflict zone, while the others were still on training ranges.

Under these conditions, any talk of additional mobilization measures is simply meaningless. The Ministries of State and Defense do not need this at this time. The previous round of mobilization, which was announced in mid-September, was also preceded by an official denial.

Putin also denied that the Russian military had suffered mass desertions in Ukraine due to poor conditions and low morale. This followed reports from independent Russian media about secret concentration camps in Russian-occupied Donbass, where dozens of soldiers who refused to fight were held in squalid conditions.

“Are there men who deserted their fighting posts? Yes, it has happened… less and less now,” he said. I repeat once again that there are no such cases [desertions] It has a collective character.

Putin devoted some of his remarks to questions about the possibility of nuclear war, which he said was made more likely by conflict with the West.

“This threat is growing, and I cannot deny it,” Putin said in response to a question, adding that Russia would not use those weapons first.

“We have not gone crazy, we understand what nuclear weapons are. We have these means, and they are more advanced and modern than those of any other nuclear country. As of today, this is an obvious fact.

“We will not wave these weapons like a razor, running around the world, but of course we will act with the understanding that they are there.”

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