Vladimir Putin, invigorated by Ukraine’s difficulties, displayed his confidence in a victory on Thursday during a question-and-answer session.
Russia “moves forward”: Vladimir Putin, energized by Ukraine’s difficulties, displayed his confidence in a victory on Thursday during a question-and-answer session, a week after announcing his intention to stay in the Kremlin.
Confident that in 2024 time will be on his side and that the setbacks of his army in 2022 are a thing of the past, the Russian president answers questions from the press and citizens, a traditional exercise which he abandoned last year.
Asked about the attacks carried out by the Russian army since the end of the abortive Ukrainian counter-offensive, he expressed his satisfaction.
“Practically along the entire length of the line of contact, our armed forces are improving their positions,” affirmed Mr. Putin, the Russian military having been nibbling ground for several weeks.
He nevertheless admitted, for the first time, that Ukraine had succeeded in establishing a bridgehead on the bank of the Dnieper occupied in the south by Russia. However, according to him, this effort is desperate.
“They are pushing their guy to extermination,” he said.
Uncompromising on his goals
He made it clear that his objectives were unchanged in Ukraine after two years of conflict: to oust the current power, which he describes as Nazi, and to destroy the military capabilities of its pro-Western neighbor to impose neutrality on it.
“I remind you what we talked about: the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine, its neutral status,” he said, adding that the solution “will be negotiated or obtained by force.”
The Russian president revealed for the first time how many Russian soldiers were in Ukraine: 617,000, including 244,000 mobilized. A considerable force occupying some 17-18% of Ukrainian territory.
However, he did not reveal the losses of his army, the United States estimating them at 315,000 soldiers injured or dead.
On the ground, the Russian army launched 42 drones against southern Ukraine in the night alone from Wednesday to Thursday. The Ukrainians said they had killed 41, but the scale of the attack illustrates the growing military pressure exerted by Moscow.
On Tuesday, the Ukrainian capital kyiv was targeted by ten missiles which, according to Ukrainian authorities, were all neutralized in flight. Their debris, however, injured around fifty people when it fell, the heaviest death toll in this city in months.
The Ukrainian army, for its part, launched nine explosive drones towards Russia during the night from Wednesday to Thursday. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, all were shot down.
Asked about the resistance of the Russian economy in the face of Western sanctions, Mr. Putin was also confident, referring to the “strong consolidation of Russian society”, the “stability of the financial and economic system” and “the increase in military capabilities” of Russia.
This has “a margin of safety (…) sufficient not only to feel confident but also to move forward”.
Although he admits that inflation, expected at 7.5-8% at the end of the year, is too high and he has promised measures, the Russian head of state above all welcomed of forecast growth of 3.5% in 2023.
“This means we have caught up and taken a big step forward.”
Russia continues to sell enough of its hydrocarbons to finance the war effort. And the industry was reoriented towards state orders for arms and munitions.
ADVERTISEMENTThe Russian economy thus seems to have absorbed the immediate shock of the sanctions but their longer-term effects could be devastating, with the country being cut off from certain advanced technologies and entire sections of the international banking system.
On the diplomatic level, Moscow can also be satisfied to see Ukraine’s Western supporters quarreling over the continuation of their military aid and over the prospects of Ukraine’s membership in the EU.
The latest illustration to date, on Thursday, Prime Minister Viktor Orban affirmed upon arriving at the European summit in Brussels that the EU was “not in a position” to open accession negotiations.
“Don’t offer a victory” to Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the 27 member states of the European Union on the same day, stressing that now is not the time for “hesitation and half measures.”
Opposition eradicated
According to Russian television, more than two million questions were sent to Vladimir Putin for Thursday’s show, covering Ukraine but also everyday life issues.
ADVERTISEMENTLike every year, certain citizens’ grievances are resolved almost directly.
On Thursday, children who spoke to Mr. Putin obtained the renovation of a sports hall in Crimea, an annexed Ukrainian territory.
This question-and-answer marathon is an opportunity for Mr. Putin to campaign, a week after announcing his ambition to stay in the Kremlin, at least until 2030, the year he turns 78.
The opposition has been methodically eradicated by the Kremlin, so much so that the March 2024 election appears to be a formality.
His main detractor, the imprisoned anti-corruption activist Alexeï Navalny, has not been found for more than a week. This could mean his transfer to a penal colony with even harsher conditions, where he will have to serve his 19-year prison sentence for “extremism”.
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