Putin alerts he expects lengthy warfare in Ukraine, will not be betting on Trump

AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday indicated he was bracing for an extended warfare in Ukraine, saying that Kyiv may use any ceasefire to rearm and that Washington would proceed to see Russia as an enemy irrespective of who received the 2024 US election.

Speaking for a number of hours at an financial discussion board in Russia’s Pacific port metropolis of Vladivostok, Putin stated Ukraine’s counteroffensive towards Russian forces had to date failed and the Ukrainian military had sustained heavy losses of 71,000 males within the assaults.

Only when Ukraine was exhausted when it got here to males, gear and ammunition would it not discuss peace, he stated in reply to questions from a Russian tv presenter performing as a moderator.

But he stated Kyiv would use any cessation of hostilities “to replenish their resources and restore the combat capability of their armed forces”.

Putin stated many potential mediators had requested him if Russia was able to cease preventing however stated that Russia may hardly achieve this when it was going through a Ukrainian counteroffensive.

For there to be any likelihood of talks, stated Putin, Ukraine would first need to cancel its self-imposed authorized ban on peace talks and clarify what it needed.

“Then we shall see,” Putin stated.

Russia controls about 18 per cent of Ukrainian territory, together with Crimea which it annexed in 2014, and a swathe of jap and southern Ukraine which it seized after invading Ukraine on February 24 final yr in what it known as a particular navy operation.

The warfare has sown devastation throughout cities and the countryside, and killed or injured lots of of 1000’s of combatants and civilians.

For a number of months, Ukraine has been battling to attempt to regain a number of the misplaced territory and has retaken some villages however has not but made vital breakthroughs towards closely fortified Russian traces that are strewn with landmines.

Ukraine says it won’t relaxation till each final Russian soldier is ejected from its land. The West says it desires to assist Ukraine defeat Russia – an purpose Kremlin officers say is an unrealistic pipedream.

US ELECTION

Putin stated the prosecution within the United States of former President Donald Trump was politically motivated and demonstrated the “rottenness” of the US political system.

But the Kremlin chief stated that irrespective of who received subsequent yr’s US election, he anticipated no change in Washington’s coverage in the direction of Russia.

“The will be no fundamental changes in the Russian direction in US foreign policy, no matter who is elected president,” Putin stated. “The US authorities perceive Russia as an existential enemy.”

Putin additionally defended his pivot in the direction of Asia, which he stated was accelerated by the warfare and the West’s try to constrict the $2.1 trillion Russian financial system.

Speaking forward of a gathering with North Korean chief Kim Jong Un, Putin stated the West was making an attempt to discourage China from having shut relations with Russia, however that such makes an attempt had failed as ties with Beijing have been at an unprecedented degree.

The West’s choice to provide Ukraine with cluster bombs and depleted uranium munitions was a criminal offense, he stated. Such provides may delay the warfare, he added, however they’d not change its final end result.

He additionally criticised the West’s choice to provide Ukraine with F-16 jets and any attainable US provide of Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS).

The Biden administration is near approving the cargo of longer-range missiles full of cluster bombs to Ukraine, Reuters reported this month.