War ‘will take time’ and nuclear risk rises, says Putin

Almost 10 months after the start of the invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged on Wednesday (7) that the conflict will still “take a while”, while warning of the “growing” threat of nuclear war.

Speaking at a meeting of Russia’s Human Rights Council in the Kremlin, Putin said Moscow would fight back with “all means at our disposal” in what he insists he called a “special military operation”, but also said he saw no need immediate need to mobilize more troops.

“As far as the protracted nature of the special military operation and its results are concerned, of course, it’s going to take a while, maybe,” he said.

Without categorically ruling out the use of nuclear weapons, Putin said he saw Russia’s nuclear arsenal as a deterrent – not a provocation.

“As for the idea that Russia would not use such weapons first under any circumstances, that means that it would not be able to be the second to use them either – because the possibility of doing that in case of an attack on our territory would be too much. limited,” he said.

“However, we have a strategy. As a defense, we do consider weapons of mass destruction, nuclear weapons – everything is based on the so-called retaliatory attack,” he continued. “That is, when we are hit, we attack in response.”

The Russian leader said that US nuclear weapons were located in large numbers on European soil, while Russia had not transferred its nuclear weapons to other territories and does not plan to do so, but at the same time, “will protect its allies with all means at its disposal, if necessary”.

“We don’t go crazy. We are aware of what nuclear weapons are. We have these means, they are in a more advanced and modern form than those of any other nuclear country, that is obvious”, he pointed out. “But we’re not going to brandish these weapons like a razor, running around the world.”

“Significant result”

Putin also said there was no need for further deployment of Russian troops now, saying suggestions for more deployments “simply make no sense”.

Of the 300,000 men called up for Russia’s partial mobilization, half are currently in Ukraine – and of those, only 77,000 are in combat units, while the rest are in defense or training forces, according to the Russian leader.

Meanwhile, in response to a question, he described the territorial gains as a “significant result for Russia”.

In September, Putin announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions – Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – in a process that violated international law.
However, Russia currently only controls 60% of the southern region of Kherson. The country’s troops were forced to withdraw from the regional capital city of Kherson last month in a humiliating retreat, although they still control the coastline along the Sea of ​​Azov.

“Let’s face it, the Sea of ​​Azov has become an internal sea of ​​the Russian Federation. This is very important, ”she praised.

However, in Zaporizhzhia, the United Nations nuclear watchdog has repeatedly warned of the risk of a nuclear accident. Ukraine’s biggest nuclear plant has been occupied by Russian forces since March and has been rocked by explosions in recent months amid fighting nearby. Kiev and Moscow blame each other for the attacks.

Earlier this week, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman dismissed proposals by the International Atomic Energy Agency to create a demilitarized zone around the plant, claiming it was on “Russian territory and is fully controlled by Russia”.

wave of attacks

Putin’s comments come close to the onset of winter, with Russia still protecting parts of eastern and southern Ukraine – and facing attacks on its own soil.

Earlier this week, Russia unleashed a wave of drone and missile attacks across Ukraine, targeting the country’s energy infrastructure. Since the beginning of October, Ukraine has faced a huge wave of attacks against critical infrastructure and energy sources.

The recent actions caused massive blackouts in several regions, including Kiev and Odesa, leaving many families without electricity. Ukrainian repair crews have worked frantically to restore power across the country, but their efforts are being slowed by sub-zero temperatures and bad weather.

Meanwhile, Russia accused Ukraine of using drones to attack military airfields deep inside its territory on Monday and Tuesday – an extraordinary violation of the Russian government’s claim that it can protect its own country.

Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the blasts, in line with Kiev’s official policy of silence around attacks inside Russia or in Russian-occupied Crimea.

However, in an apparent reference to the attacks, an aide to President Volodymyr Zelensky cryptically tweeted that “if something is launched into the airspace of other countries, sooner or later unknown flying objects will return to the starting point”.