Warmongering Even though his soldiers have been routed in the east, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that his disastrous war in Ukraine is proceeding as planned.
In his first remarks since his army disintegrated and fled the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, Putin stated that his Donbas operation is proceeding “not at a very rapid pace,” but that he would not be deterred by the humiliating defeat.
Our offensive campaign in Donbas will continue. After a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, he remarked, “They are advancing – not at a rapid rate, but they are gradually gaining more and more land.”
In less than two weeks, his army has surrendered more than 8,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian land, which it had won with heavy loss of life and equipment, to a fast Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Putin threatened on Friday of a “more serious” response if his soldiers continued to be defeated in Ukraine.
The authorities of Kiev have proclaimed the launch of an intensive counteroffensive campaign. In Samarkand, the capital of Uzbekistan, he said with a chuckle, “Let’s see how this turns out.”
Vladimir Putin, addressing at a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation session in Uzbekistan, stated that his effort in the Donbas is still “progressing” despite recent humiliating losses in the Kharkiv region.
On the outskirts of Izium are a damaged Russian tank and armored personnel carriers. Putin warned of a “more serious” response if his forces in Ukraine continued to be routed.
A damaged Russian MT-LB armored personnel carrier is pictured ablaze in a field on the outskirts of Izium.
Putin has been in Uzbekistan for a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation conference, alongside Recep Tayyip Erdogan, center left, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, among others.
Indeed, we have been quite cautious in our response to it up to this point. Recently, the Russian military forces have delivered a number of stinging strikes.
Let’s assume they served as a warning. If the situation continues to deteriorate, the response will become more severe.’
I would want to remind you that the Russian army is not in full force… Only the professional army is engaged in combat.
Putin’s two primary options, if he want to escalate the conflict in Ukraine, are to either mobilise the entire country on a war footing or to deploy nuclear weapons on the battlefield.
In light of the threat, President Joe Biden cautioned Vladimir Putin not to respond to military humiliations in Ukraine with nuclear weapons or suffer ‘consequences’
The President said to his Russian colleague, “Don’t, Don’t, Don’t” three times. You will alter the face of war in a manner unprecedented since World War II.
Biden stated that a US retaliation would be “significant” and that “[Russia] will become more of a pariah in the world than ever before.”
And depending on the severity of their actions, a particular response would ensue.
Mobilization would be politically challenging for Putin, who has not yet declared war on Ukraine but has described the conflict as a “special military operation.”
Mobilization would necessitate a declaration of war, the admission of the failure of the “special military operation,” and the conscription of hundreds of thousands of young men who would not necessarily be willing to fight a failed war of aggression against a brother nation.
Since 2014, when Russia stoked a pro-Russian insurrection among separatist factions, a low-intensity war has raged between Kiev and Donetsk.
Putin intended to take all of Ukraine in February 2022, but was forced to narrow his strategic objectives to seizing the industrial Donbas region in March when his forces were routed in the Kyiv region.
Even these war objectives are now in question, and Putin is under pressure from so-called friends and allies at the Uzbekistan meeting to halt the conflict.
Putin (left) noted China’s undefined ‘questions and concerns’ on the Ukraine conflict and thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) for his government’s ‘balanced stance’ on the conflict.
Mr. Putin (right) attempted to allay India’s concerns by informing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) during the SCO meeting that Moscow desires a swift end to the war.
I am aware that we do not live in a time of war,’ Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told his Russian counterpart in televised remarks during their meeting in Uzbekistan on Friday.
Mr. Putin attempted to allay India’s anxieties by informing Mr. Modi at the SCO conference that Moscow desires a swift end to the hostilities. In addition, he asserted that Ukrainian officials have rejected negotiations.
The Russian leader informed Mr. Modi, “I am aware of your position on the issue in Ukraine and the worries that you have consistently expressed.”
We will do everything possible to terminate this as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the Ukrainian leadership has rejected the dialogue process and announced that it intends to achieve its objectives through military methods on the battlefield.
Putin noted China’s undefined ‘questions and concerns’ over the Ukraine conflict and thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping for his government’s ‘balanced attitude’ on the conflict at the same conference a day earlier.
Putin confronts challenges on all fronts, as demonstrated by the hasty withdrawal of his forces and the unusual public misgivings aired by key partners. Both China and India have close connections with Russia and wished to maintain neutrality regarding Ukraine.
In a government-issued statement, Xi reaffirmed support for Russia’s ‘fundamental interests’ while also expressing a desire to work together to ‘inject stability’ into world events. Modi stated that he wished to discuss “how we might advance on the path to peace.”