Russian President Vladimir Putin declared Tuesday that the military has seized the initiative on the battlefield in Ukraine after repelling Kyiv's counteroffensive and is well positioned to achieve Moscow's goals. Putin's speech at a meeting with top military brass came a day after he presented documents to Russia's Central Election Commission to seek reelection in the March presidential vote that he's all but certain to win. "Our troops are holding the initiative," he said. "We are effectively doing what we think is needed, doing what we want. Where our commanders consider it necessary to stick to active defenses they are doing so, and we are improving our positions where it's needed." The Russian leader hailed the troops for repelling Ukrainian attacks during the summer counteroffensive, reports the AP.
"The enemy has suffered heavy casualties and to a large extent wasted its reserves while trying to show at least some results of its so-called counteroffensive to its masters," Putin said, adding that "the myth about invulnerability of Western weapons also has collapsed." "All attempts by the West to deliver us a military defeat, a strategic defeat, were shattered by the courage and fortitude of our soldiers, the growing might of our armed forces, and the potential of our military industries," Putin said. During the counteroffensive that began in early June, Ukrainian forces failed to make any significant gains as they faced multi-echeloned Russian defensive lines, including sprawling minefields. Speaking at the same meeting, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said that the Russian minefields spread for more than 4,300 miles.
Shoigu said 650,000 Russian soldiers have received combat experience in Ukraine, turning the Russian army into "the best prepared and capable army in the world, armed with advanced weapons that have been tested in combat." "Despite the sanctions, we produce more high-tech weapons than NATO countries," Shoigu said. He declared that the Russian arms industries have increased the output of tanks by 5.6 times and the number of drones built by 16.8 times, as well as bolstered the production of artillery munitions by 17.5 times since the start of the war. Shoigu said the military has received more than 1,500 new and modernized tanks, more than 2,500 armored infantry vehicles, and 237 new planes and helicopters.
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The minister said Russia's armed forces were finalizing the deployment of the Sarmat heavy intercontinental ballistic missile, the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile, and the Poseidon atomic-powered, nuclear-armed underwater drone. While hailing the military's performance, Putin noted the need to improve military communications, streamline the use of intelligence and counterartillery means, and increase supplies of precision munitions and drones. Putin particularly emphasized the importance of bolstering the country's nuclear forces, saying that their role has increased amid "the changing character of military threats and the emergence of new military-political risks." He declared that Russia is open for talks to end the conflict, but he warned that "we won't give up what is ours. If they want to talk, let them enter the talks. But we will proceed from our interests." (More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)
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