– Putin Tells Allies ‘No Hurry’ In Ukraine, Warns Of “More Serious” Action To Come:
In Friday remarks before the Uzbek-hosted Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin was pressed by reporters over Ukraine’s reportedly successful counteroffensive going on in northeast Ukraine.
Putin responded by saying Russian’s military is in ‘no hurry’ to finish its campaign in Ukraine, perhaps to the surprise of the audience, stressing “The plan is not subject to adjustment” – while not denying the difficulty the counteroffensive has posed for his forces. “Our offensive operations in Donbas itself do not stop. They are going at a slow pace… the Russian army is occupying newer and newer territories,” Putin said, and added, “We are not in a hurry … there are no changes.”
There’s been widespread speculation from Western governments and officials that Russia’s armed forces have taken on immense casualties, with the Pentagon last month putting the figure at 80,000 Russian troops injured or killed – including the deaths of senior officers and generals. Other independent monitors have tended to offer far lower figures, but still significant losses. This has served to put pressure on the Kremlin to issue a full declaration of war against Ukraine and thus national military mobilization, something this week an official Kremlin statement said wasn’t as yet under consideration.
President Putin in the Friday remarks in Samarkand addressed the fact that the Russian “special operation” is not yet happening with the full strength of the military:
Putin said Russia was “not fighting with a full army” but only contract soldiers, and said the main goal of the campaign remained “the liberation of the entire territory of Donbas”.
He accused Ukrainian forces of attempts to carry out “terrorist acts” and damage Russian civilian infrastructure.
That’s when he offered some his toughest words of late, coming in the context of the US and NATO appearing to deepen their role even further in support of Kiev forces, saying a more “serious” response is being readied.
“We are really quite restrained in our response to this, for the time being,” Putin said. “If the situation continues to develop in this way, the response will be more serious.”
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