Russia does not feel the need for additional mobilization, and there is no need to declare martial law throughout the country, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday at a meeting with war correspondents.
https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/18000647
According to him, Moscow can create a “sanitary zone” in Ukraine in the event of continued shelling of border areas, and its goals, although being adjusted “in accordance with the current situation,” have not fundamentally changed. Speaking about the Ukrainian counter-offensive, the President noted that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have not yet achieved success in any sector and are suffering heavy losses.
TASS collected Putin’s main statements.
On the counter-offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Kiev’s large-scale counter-offensive, which began on June 4, continues, but to no avail: “The enemy was not successful in any of the sectors. They have heavy losses.”
The Armed Forces of Ukraine lose 10 times more than the Russian forces, and “the structure of losses is unfavorable”: “Usually, irretrievable losses are 25 percent, maximum 30. They have almost 50 to 50.”
Kiev has already lost more than 160 tanks and over 360 armored vehicles of various types, “this is about 25%, maybe 30% of the amount of equipment that was delivered [to Ukraine] from abroad.” Russia has lost 54 tanks, but some of them are subject to restoration and repair.
About mobilized and contract soldiers
Russia does not need a new wave of mobilization : “The Ministry of Defense reports that, of course, there is no need for mobilization today.”
The mobilized “sometimes it is necessary to gradually return home < …>”, but the law does not provide for specific deadlines : “It will be necessary to proceed, first of all, from the availability of personnel, from how the situation develops on the line of contact, how the special military operation”.
Since January, more than 150,000 contract soldiers have been recruited in Russia, “and together with volunteers, 156,000 people.” Last week alone, 9.5 thousand people signed contracts.
Soldiers of volunteer detachments must sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense: “This is the only way to ensure social guarantees.” At the same time, changes in legislation are also needed to bring everything “in line with common sense.”
About conscripts
Conscript soldiers will not be sent to the zone of a special military operation, including to new regions of Russia, “there is no need, as the Ministry of Defense reports, to send them to this zone.” At the same time, conscripts will continue to be in the border areas.
About the destruction of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station
Russia was not interested in undermining the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station because of the dire consequences for its territories: “Who is guilty is clear. The Ukrainian side was striving for this.”
Moscow did not record “big explosions” before the destruction of the dam, but Kyiv had previously repeatedly attacked the hydroelectric power station: “Maybe they once again added something insignificant, and destruction began.”
The flood “unfortunately < …> thwarted their (Ukrainian – TASS note) counteroffensive in this direction”, although “it would be better if they attacked there”: “It would be very bad for them to attack there.”
On martial law and border regions
“On the whole , it makes no sense to introduce some kind of special regime in the country, martial law , there is no need for this today. We need to work more carefully on some issues.”
Kyiv’s attacks on the border areas are connected with an attempt to divert Russian forces from other directions. In response, Moscow will strengthen the border , and “this task will also be solved.”
If shelling from Ukraine continues, the Russian Federation will have to consider creating “some kind of sanitary zone ” on Ukrainian territory, so that it would be “impossible” to reach Russian regions from outside it.
The Russian authorities will “help pointwise, for each family, for each housing construction” affected by Ukrainian shelling: “Funds will come and are already coming from the government’s reserve fund.”
On the possibility of negotiations with Kyiv
Russia has never given up on negotiations that could lead to a peaceful settlement. In Istanbul in the spring of 2022, representatives of Moscow and Kiev initialed a draft agreement, but the Ukrainians “just threw it away later, that’s all.”
If the Western countries really want the end of the conflict, it is enough for them to stop supplying weapons to Kiev: “The Ukrainians themselves do not produce anything, they will want to negotiate tomorrow. Not formally, but in essence.”
About shells with depleted uranium
Russia reserves the right to use shells with depleted shells in response to their use by the Armed Forces of Ukraine: “We have a lot of such ammunition, < …> and if they use them, we also reserve the right to use the same ammunition.”
“There is nothing good here, but if necessary, we are able to do it. We do not need to do it.”
About veterans in the leadership of special services
Veterans of a special military operation should be ” moved ” in the hierarchy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, “but not only”: “They can also be “moved” to law enforcement agencies, to special services.”
On the development of “defense”
Defense production in Russia increased by 2.7 times over the year, and by 10 times in the most demanded areas. Now “tens, hundreds of private enterprises that have never had anything to do with the military-industrial complex have joined this work.”
During a special military operation , it turned out that “many things are missing” – precision-guided munitions, communications equipment, unmanned aerial vehicles. But if not for the operation, the country’s leadership “probably never understood how to fine-tune < …> the defense industry” so that the Russian army “was the best in the world.”
About the grain deal
Russia is “thinking about withdrawing from the grain deal ” because it was “once again deceived”: although Moscow was promised to remove obstacles to its exports, “nothing has been done to liberalize the terms of supplies.” At the same time, for Kyiv, food exports are now the main source of foreign exchange earnings.
Moscow is participating in the grain deal for the sake of the friendly countries of Africa and Latin America and is ready to supply them with the amount of grain they received through this agreement free of charge.
About the goals of the NWO
The goals of the special military operation are adjusted “in accordance with the current situation,” but do not change in general: “On the whole, of course, we will not change anything. They are of a fundamental nature for us.”
WtR