Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia remains firmly committed to its original goals in the war against Ukraine, including the pursuit of Ukrainian surrender, despite ongoing negotiations with the United States, News.bg reports.
On May 4, Kremlin journalist Pavel Zarubin aired a documentary on the Russian state channel “Rossiya 1“, in which Putin claimed that Russia has enough resources to bring the war to its “logical end with the result it needs“. This was reported by analysts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Putin stressed that “reconciliation“ between Russia and the Ukrainian part of the Russian people is “inevitable”, repeating his false claim that Ukrainians and Russians are one people - a statement that has been repeatedly used to justify the invasion.
Russian state media also emphasized these statements by Putin, which reflect his desire to strengthen domestic support for the war. He encouraged self-sacrifice both on the battlefield and in the rear, as part of a broader ideological campaign to prepare Russian society for a long-term conflict and future confrontations with the West.
In the interview, Putin said that Russian society had accepted the invasion of Ukraine positively and that every citizen realized that "he is the state", emphasizing the importance of individual responsibility for Russia's survival.
He described Russia as a country of "moral and ethical values", the foundation of which is "family, state and the future of the nation". According to Putin, public support for the war is built on these shared values, although the Kremlin actually relies on financial incentives to recruit soldiers and sustain military operations.
Putin again accused the West of "misleading" Russia after the signing of the Minsk agreements in 2015, probably with the aim of convincing the Russian public that dialogue with the West is impossible and the war must continue.
ISW notes that Putin's statements clearly demonstrate a lack of intention to switch to defensive actions or reduce the intensity of the offensive. On the contrary, the Kremlin seems to be striving to create an ideological basis for a long and exhausting war.
Since the beginning of the conflict, the Russian authorities have been gradually militarizing society. They have been conducting a long-term campaign to consolidate control over veterans and elevate them to positions in regional and federal government.
In 2025, Russia will celebrate the “Year of the Defender of the Fatherland“ - officially declared by Putin in the context of the numerous militaristic initiatives of the last two years. The aim is to provide social and financial support for veterans and to establish their image as the new “elite” of Russian society.
Russia is also actively investing in the military-patriotic education of youth - a telling sign of the Kremlin's desire to build a new generation of loyal and militarized citizens.
Meanwhile, on May 4, the head of Ukraine's Main Directorate of Military Intelligence (GUR), Lieutenant General Kirill Budanov, revealed new details about the May 2 attack, in which Ukrainian naval Magura-7 drones armed with AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles shot down two Russian Su-30 fighter jets over the Black Sea.