One of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies said Russia’s so-called military operation in Ukraine had not gone as quickly as the Kremlin wanted, in Moscow’s strongest acknowledgment yet that its invasion is not going as planned.
Viktor Zolotov, head of the Russian national guard and a Security Council member who advises Putin, said progress had been slower than expected, blaming what he called far-right Ukrainian forces hiding behind civilians.
“I would like to say that yes, not everything is going as fast as we would like,” Zolotov said in comments posted on the National Guard’s website. “But we are moving towards our goal step by step and victory will be ours,” he added.
The United States and its European allies called the invasion an imperial-style conquest of territory that has so far been unsuccessful because Moscow underestimated Ukrainian resistance.
Ukraine, which says it is fighting for its survival, denies Russian claims that its forces have used civilians as shields in battle and has accused Moscow of war crimes for killing civilians.
Zolotov has been at Putin’s side since before the turn of the century, running the Kremlin leader’s personal security for 13 years. Since 2016, he has headed the National Guard force, which reports directly to Putin and has deployed troops in Ukraine.
His comments, made at a religious service led by Orthodox Patriarch Kirill on Sunday, deviated from those from the Kremlin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who say Russia’s operation in Ukraine will be completed on time and in full.
The Kremlin said on Monday that the operation was proceeding as planned, but that its army could change course and seek to take full control of major Ukrainian cities. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia had been careful not to target civilians.
Peskov said claims by the United States and the European Union that Putin was somehow disappointed in the progress of what the Kremlin calls a special military operation was a provocation aimed at getting Russia to invade cities.
“All the plans of the Russian leadership will be achieved on time and in full,” Peskov said of Ukraine.
Source: CNN Brasil
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