Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday vowed to attack Ukraine despite Ukraine’s latest counterattack and warned that Moscow could intensify attacks on the country’s critical infrastructure if Ukrainian forces targeting facilities in Russia.
Speaking to the media on Friday after attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Uzbekistan, Putin said that the “liberation” of the entire eastern Ukraine Donbas region remained the main military goal. of Russia and he saw no need to readjust.
“We are in no hurry,” the Russian leader said, adding that Moscow has only deployed volunteers to fight in Ukraine. Some hard-line politicians and military bloggers have urged the Kremlin to follow Ukraine’s example and ordered widespread mobilization to raise its ranks, complaining about Russia’s manpower shortage.
Russia was forced to withdraw its forces from large swaths of northeastern Ukraine last week following a swift Ukrainian counterattack. Ukraine’s recapture of several Russian-occupied cities and villages marks Moscow’s biggest military setback since its forces had to withdraw from areas near the capital early in the conflict. war.
In his first comment on the Ukrainian counterattack, Putin said: “Let’s see how it develops and how it ends.”
He noted that Ukraine has attempted to attack civilian infrastructure in Russia and “so far we have responded with restraint, but not yet.”
“If the situation develops in this direction, our response will be more severe,” Putin said.
“Only recently has the Russian armed forces carried out a number of impactful attacks,” he said in an apparent reference to Russian attacks earlier this week on power plant in northern Ukraine and a dam to the south. “Think of those as warning strikes.”
He alleges, without giving specifics, that Ukraine tried to carry out attacks “near our nuclear facilities, our nuclear power plants”, adding that “we will pay chopsticks if they don’t understand that such methods are unacceptable.”
Russia has reported multiple explosions and fires at civilian infrastructure in areas near Ukraine, as well as ammunition depots and other facilities. Ukraine has claimed responsibility for some attacks and has limited comment on others.
Putin also sought to assuage India’s concerns about the conflict in Ukraine, telling Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Moscow wanted a quick end to the fighting and accusing Ukrainian officials of not negotiating.
“I know your stance on the conflict in Ukraine and the concerns that you have voiced many times,” the Russian leader told Modi. “We will do all we can to put an end to that as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the other side, the Ukrainian leadership, has rejected progress on negotiations and stated that they want to achieve the goal. by military means, on the battlefield.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia itself is said to not want to negotiate seriously. He also stressed the withdrawal of Russian troops from the occupied regions of Ukraine as a precondition for negotiations.
Putin’s statement during his talks with Modi echoes the comments made by the Russian leader on Thursday Meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping when Putin thanked him for the government’s “balanced stance” on the Ukraine war, adding that he was open to discussing China’s unspecified “concerns” about Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Putin said he and Xi “discussed what we should do under the current conditions to effectively counter the illegal restrictions” imposed by the method. West imposed. The European Union, the United States and other Western nations have imposed sanctions on Russian energy as a result of the war in Ukraine.
In a statement released by the government, Mr. Xi expressed support for Russia’s “core interests” but was also interested in working together to “inject stability” into world affairs. . China’s relations with Washington, Europe, Japan and India have been strained by disputes over technology, security, human rights and territory.
Zhang Lihua, an international relations expert at Tsinghua University, said the reference to stability “is mainly related to China-US relations”, adding that “the US has been using every way to suppress China, which has forced China to seek cooperation with Russia. . “
China and India have refused to join Western sanctions against Russia because of the war in Ukraine while increasing purchases of Russian oil and gas, helping Moscow offset financial constraints imposed by the US and India. imposed by allies.
Putin also met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday to discuss strengthening economic cooperation and regional issues, including a July agreement reached by Turkey and the United Nations. as an intermediary to allow Ukraine’s grain exports to continue from the country’s Black Sea ports.
Speaking at the Uzbekistan summit on Friday, Mr. Xi warned his Central Asian neighbors not to allow outsiders to destabilize them. The warning reflects Beijing’s anxiety that Western support for democracy and human rights activists is a plot to undermine Xi’s ruling Communist Party and other authoritarian governments.
“We should prevent outside forces from instigating a color revolution,” Xi said in a speech to leaders of Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states, referring to the protests. overthrow unpopular regimes in the former Soviet Union and the Middle East.
Xi suggested training 2,000 police officers, setting up a regional counter-terrorism training center and “strengthening law enforcement capacity building.” He did not say clearly.
His comments echo long-standing Russian grievances about color-coded democratic uprisings in several former Soviet states that the Kremlin considers instigated by the United States and its allies.
Mr. Xi is pushing the “Global Security Initiative” announced in April after the US, Japan, Australia and India formed the Quartet in response to Beijing’s more assertive foreign policy. . American officials complain that it echoes Russian arguments in support of Moscow’s actions in Ukraine.
Central Asia is part of China’s multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative that aims to expand trade by building ports, railways and other infrastructure on an arc of dozens countries from the South Pacific through Asia to the Middle East, Europe and Africa.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was established by Russia and China as a counterweight to US influence. The group also includes India, Pakistan and the four Central Asian countries of the former Soviet Union, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Iran is on track to receive full membership.
