Putin acknowledges battle in Ukraine 'might be a prolonged course of'

Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged on Wednesday the battle in Ukraine “might be a prolonged course of” and the battle was taking longer than he had anticipated.

Talking in a televised assembly with members of the Human Rights Council, Putin admitted issues about provides, wounded troopers and a few troop desertions.

However he nonetheless insisted Russian forces had succeeded in capturing new territory regardless of varied setbacks in his “particular army operation” launched in late February.

The Russian chief referred to as beneficial properties in southern and jap Ukraine “a major consequence for Russia” and vowed to proceed to “battle for our pursuits.”

Putin illegally annexed 4 areas in Ukraine over the autumn: Kherson and Zaporizhzhia within the south and Donetsk and Luhansk within the east, though these are all contested areas.

Russia additionally illegally annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and captured the port of Mariupol in Might, gaining key entry to the Sea of Azov.

Ukrainian forces, nonetheless, pushed Russia out of the western a part of the nation, together with the capitol of Kyiv, early within the battle. By means of main counteroffensives in current months, Ukraine additionally reclaimed territories and cities, together with Kherson and Kharkiv.

Putin on Wednesday mentioned his partial mobilization order in September that referred to as up some 300,000 reservists. He mentioned solely 150,000 of these troops have deployed from the decree and there wouldn’t be one other mobilization.

Putin additionally defended his previous remarks threatening the usage of nuclear weapons, calling Russia’s nuclear arsenal a “deterrence” to the western world.

“We haven’t gone mad. We’re absolutely conscious of what nuclear weapons are,” Putin mentioned. “Now we have them, and they’re extra superior and state-of-the-art than what another nuclear energy has.”

Putin in September referred to as Russia’s potential use of nuclear weapons “not a bluff,” though officers in Moscow have since launched statements saying nuclear battle have to be prevented in any respect prices.

Ukrainian and Russian troops are settling in for the approaching winter months, with analysts estimating that forces might be making ready for potential counteroffensives within the spring.

In the meantime, Russia has begun bombarding Ukrainian civilian infrastructure and vitality grids, whereas strikes in bases lots of of miles inside Russia this week might have indicated retaliation from Ukraine.

The Related Press contributed to this report.