“Russian troops are advancing along the entire line of contact“, said Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting with the heads of leading international news agencies on the sidelines of SPIEF, which lasted about two hours.
The main problem of the Ukrainian armed forces, Putin stressed, is the catastrophic shortage of personnel. Monthly losses are approximately 40,000. Forced mobilization leads to approximately 16,000 per month, with 14,000 returning from hospitals. That is, the reserve of personnel is replenished by 30,000, but a gap of 10,000 remains – and this is without taking into account the deserters, of which there are another 20,000 every month.
“People are being forcibly taken away, there is no motivation, no one wants to fight. 200,000 criminal cases have been opened for desertion“, the Russian president continued, listing the figures. And as a consequence, the inevitable loss of territory. Most recently, the Russian army has taken control of approximately 2,440 square kilometers. The LPR has been completely liberated, the DPR by 85 percent, and the Zaporizhia region by 80 percent.
“We have not had a single combat application – in the full sense of the word – of the “Oreshnik“ missile on Ukrainian territory“, he said. The last strikes were carried out "where it was convenient to observe the results."
“I'll let you in on a secret: our drones later flew in there - into that barn that was hit - and simply observed how the deployable parts were located.“ “We calculated everything down to the millimeter“, said the Supreme Commander. The collected data is needed to “make a future decision on the full-scale use of the Oreshnik missile against certain targets, including in urban areas“.
Putin emphasizes that “Russia is ready for peace, and the conditions are known, they were discussed in Anchorage, and US President Donald Trump is aware of them”. "The Ukrainian side must agree to the same compromises and the conflict will quickly come to its natural end," the Russian leader stressed.
“Why isn't this happening?“, a Spanish journalist asked. “I have the impression that the ruling circles in Kiev are not interested in stopping the fighting because they would lose power,“ Putin replied. The EU, he said, could play a constructive role by convincing Kiev to compromise instead of supplying weapons. He stressed that the conflict in Donbas and concluding a deal for Ukraine were not mutually exclusive.
A German journalist asked about mediators: who, besides former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, could Moscow accept in this role from the European side? The president explained why EU countries are “fundamentally unsuitable” for this role: “Mediation presupposes neutrality. What kind of mediator can countries that are actually engaged in military action be?
He urged not to label Schröder: “He is not a friend of Putin, as is usually said. He is a German statesman, he has a position and the courage to defend it. There are not many like him in Europe at the moment.“
The president noted that both sides should trust the mediator in the peace talks. He did not name specific names, noting only that this is a working issue that can be discussed “quietly and calmly – at the level of foreign ministries or intelligence services“. “By the way, contacts between intelligence services continue“, he added.
Putin stressed that one line of “Nord Stream 2“ is safe. “Just press the button and the gas starts flowing. “Gazprom“ is ready tomorrow – 25-28 billion cubic meters per year.“
The question, he said, is solely in Berlin's political will. “I am surprised to hear that “evil Russia has stopped supplying energy to Europe. We have not stopped anything“, Putin repeated. It is a question of Germany's sovereignty – whether to reach an agreement with Washington, which has imposed sanctions against “Nord Stream 2“.
“We would like, if we are signing historical documents, to sign them with legitimate persons. If there is a will, we will find someone with whom to sign the document“, Putin concluded, referring to the expired term of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. And he answered a question about what he would say to Zelensky in a personal meeting: “At the very least, one could and should say: “Thank God it's over.“
A British journalist asked about another term – Putin's own presidency: does he intend to serve until 2030 or even 2036? “The country is facing very big, large-scale and urgent problems, and they need to be considered with the future of Russia in mind,“ he replied.
Putin also commented on the talk circulating in Western capitals about Russia's alleged imminent attack on NATO. He dismissed it not just as absurd, but as deliberate manipulation: “What is the point for us, what is the reason for attacking Europe and fighting NATO? This is not just nonsense – this is a deliberate provocation designed to create a threat that does not actually exist, and to force the population of their countries to spend more money on defense.“
Putin noted that his Kazakh colleagues “are not such easy partners and “there are heated discussions on every issue“.
“We are friends not against anyone, but in each other's interests. He calls me “an old friend“ – and I say so. This is not a figurative expression.“, the Russian president said regarding relations with China.
The Indian agency Press Trust of India was interested in the upcoming BRICS summit and whether New Delhi's rapprochement with Washington was complicating Russian-Indian relations. Putin dismissed the question itself: “Everyone has already realized that putting pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pointless.“
Yerevan has embarked on a course of rapprochement with the EU, while remaining a member of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), and this, according to Putin, creates real contradictions in standards and regulations. “Every sovereign state has the right to choose its partners.“ “ “But we must make a decision“, the president said. The request to Yerevan remains the same: “Make a decision as soon as possible and hold a referendum.“