In front of representatives of the Ministry of Defense, Russian President Putin promised to accelerate the improvement of the army. At the same time, he also accepted deficits.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed confidence in the victory during a speech to senior military officers. "I am sure that we will achieve all our goals step by step," he said in a televised address to a meeting of senior Russian Defense Ministry officials.
He added that the war has been a valuable experience for the further construction of the Russian army and called for the acceleration of the pace of improvement and modernization of the army. There is "no financial constraint" when it comes to continuing to equip the military. "The country and the government are providing everything the army requires," he said. Putin cited the use of drones as an example. Every soldier must have "the possibility of receiving information from drones".
"The situation is very complicated"
Putin admitted that the call-up of 300,000 reservists he ordered in September had not gone smoothly. "The partial mobilization carried out revealed, as everyone knows, some issues that need to be addressed immediately," he said.
He also referred to other issues in the military and said that constructive criticism should be taken into account. "I call on the Ministry of Defense to closely follow all civilian initiatives, also take into account criticism and react correctly and at the right time," he said. Almost ten months after the February 24 invasion, Russia has occupied most of eastern and southern Ukraine along a 1,100 km front. But in the meantime, the army also suffered a series of defeats that overturned the dynamics of the war in favor of Ukraine.
Even war bloggers close to the Kremlin had expressed their anger and dismay at the performance of the Russian generals and the chaotic behavior of the mobilization. Critical voices were especially raised last month, when the Russian army withdrew from Kherson.
"NATO unfolds its full potential"
Putin said NATO is using its full potential against Russia. He invited the assembled soldiers to benefit from previous experiences in Syria and during the "special military operation" in Ukraine.
Russia's intercontinental ballistic missile Sarmat will be operational in the near future, he added. It would be able to launch a nuclear attack against the US.
The army must be strengthened
Putin called the conflict in Ukraine an "ordinary tragedy" but blamed Ukraine and its allies, not Moscow, for the outbreak of hostilities. What is happening "is not the result of our policy", but of the policy of other countries.
Another detail was Putin's plan for the creation of new units, in places described as delicate, but which in fact are open threats, as in the case of the units that will be created on the border with Finland, a country that has applied from neutral for NATO membership.
Another piece of news is the conversion of two Ukrainian cities occupied in the Sea of Azov, Beryansk and especially the "martyr" city of Marupol, theater of one of the fiercest battles of the conflict in its industrial complex, into strategic military bases. Fleet units that, according to Putin, will be equipped with the Zirkon hypersonic missile, described as "the most advanced in the world", can also arrive at those ports.
Putin added that with the introduction of the Sarmat ballistic missile, the country will also completely reorganize its nuclear capacities, sending the systems of the former Soviet Union into "retirement".
The Minister of Defense, Sergei Shoigu, said that it is necessary to further increase the number of the Russian army. The armed forces are expected to grow to 1.5 million soldiers, including 695,000 "contract soldiers" - that is, soldiers who serve voluntarily in the army beyond compulsory military service.