“Ukraine counter-offensive won’t change Russia’s plans”; Putin

 

Vladimir Putin has stated in his first public statements on the subject that Russia’s plans will not be altered by the current counteroffensive by Ukraine.

 

In a quick counterattack, Ukrainian forces claim to have taken over 8,000 square kilometres (3,088 square miles) in the northeastern Kharkiv region in just six days.

 

However, Putin claimed he wasn’t in a rush, and the attack in the Donbas region of Ukraine is still on schedule.

 

Additionally, he pointed out that Russia has not yet sent out all of its forces.

“Our offensive operation in the Donbas is not stopping. They’re moving forward – not at a very fast pace – but they are gradually taking more and more territory,” he said after the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Uzbekistan.

Putin’s invasion of Russia, which he falsely claims is necessary to safeguard Russian speakers from genocide, is focused on the industrial Donbas region in east Ukraine.

 

Since 2014, rebels supported by Russia have occupied portions of the Donbas. The current Ukrainian counterattack was conducted in the Kharkiv region, which is not a part of the Donbas.

 

Putin warned of a “more serious” response if Ukrainian attacks continued in his remarks on Friday, despite the fact that only a portion of the Russian army is engaged in combat in Ukraine.

“I remind you that the Russian army isn’t fighting in its entirety… Only the professional army is fighting.”

After stories of conscripts being forced to sign contracts and occasionally being taken prisoner emerged, several officers were penalised by Russia, which had initially denied deploying conscript soldiers to Ukraine.

 

Russia only refers to its invasion of Ukraine as a “special military operation” and has not yet formally declared war on it.

 

However, some pro-Kremlin commentators have demanded the mobilisation of more military in response to Russia’s recent defeats. Russia may be having trouble finding enough men who are eager to fight, according to a recent released film that appears to depict an attempt to recruit prisoners for a private military firm.

Since the invasion in February, Putin has only occasionally left Russia. His attendance at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit this week in Samarkand, where he met Chinese President Xi Jinping, underscores the necessity for him to strengthen connections with Asian nations after being ignored by the West.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his disapproval of war by saying “Today’s era is not an era for war.”