Putin said that the Defense Ministry does not see the need for additional mobilization in Russia
Vladimir Putin met with Russian war correspondents on June 13. The goals and reasons of the special operation, as well as its progress, were discussed. The President spoke about relations with the West and the prospects of a grain deal. Putin admitted that the beginning of the special operation revealed many problems in the army and the country's defense system. The Head of State also spoke about the losses of armored vehicles during the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on both sides. "Newspaper.Ru" has collected the most important statements of the Russian president.
About the course of the special operation
According to Putin, the general objectives of the special operation have not changed, but they are being adjusted in accordance with the current situation in the combat zone. The president called the special operation itself a response to the crossing of "red lines" by Ukraine and the West.
The Head of State stressed that Ukrainians started the "war", Russia is trying to stop it, but is forced to do it with the help of the armed forces.
"Strikes on the entire energy system of Ukraine. Isn't this the answer to overcoming the "red lines"? And the actual destruction of the headquarters of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kiev. Isn't that the answer? The answer," the president added.
He said that Moscow will continue to selectively strike at infrastructure facilities in Ukraine. At the same time, Putin stressed that Russia's irretrievable losses are about ten times less than Ukraine's.
The President said that with the beginning of the special operation, it became clear that some managers from the Ministry of Defense who worked in peacetime did not show themselves very effectively.
The military officers, in turn, told Putin that the money guaranteed by the Ministry of Defense for the damaged military equipment does not always reach the addressees. For the president, this news was a surprise. "The fact that they don't pay, it's unexpected for me. I will definitely come back to this right today in a conversation with the Ministry of Defense," he promised.
About what is happening in Ukraine
Putin explained that Moscow will never historically be satisfied with what is happening in Ukraine now.
"When the negotiation process was underway, including in Istanbul, we constantly raised this question, and we were asked a counter question: but we don't have anything neo-Nazi that you want from us. At least to introduce appropriate restrictions in the law there, in general, this was also agreed during that round of negotiations before our troops withdrew from Kiev, after they threw out all our agreements," the president said.
He added that Russia sincerely tried to negotiate, to "glue the south-east" of Ukraine with the rest of the country, but realized that after the 2014 coup d'etat, it could not abandon Crimea.
He cited Belarus as an example, with the president of which he had a lot of disputes and even swearing. But at the same time, it never occurred to anyone to start a conflict with Minsk.
As for the peace talks with Kiev, the head of state stressed that Moscow has never refused them.
The President also touched on the topic of the demolition of monuments in Ukraine: Putin believes that Russia could create a special park from this heritage.
"Here they are demolishing monuments, we could create a park from the monuments demolished in Ukraine. That could be done. You will suggest that everyone send monuments to Russia. Here the monument to Catherine the Second was demolished. The founder of the city. We would have taken it with pleasure," he said.
About the role of the West
Western countries are pumping Ukraine with weapons, do not hide it and are even proud of it, the president noted. At the same time, such deliveries violate some points of international law, but Kiev's allies prefer not to notice this fact.
According to him, Moscow is now considering withdrawing from the grain deal, the terms of which are not being fulfilled by the West. In addition, Putin pointed out that the sea transport corridors through which Ukrainian agricultural products are exported are constantly used for drone attacks on the Black Sea fleet.
"As for someone who wants to feel like a Ukrainian in Ukraine and live in an independent state, yes, for God's sake. Do whatever you want. We must respect this. But then don't create threats for us," the head of state concluded.
About Russian equipment and defense industry
Putin called the T-90 "Breakthrough" tank the best in the world in several parameters at once: accuracy, security. And he cited the story of one of the tank commanders, when, after hitting a land mine and the death of one of the crew members, the T-90 remained on the move.
As for the Russian military-industrial complex, over the year it has increased the production of the main types of weapons by 2.7 times, and for the most popular ones - by ten times. "Some industrial enterprises work in two shifts, and many in three. They work practically day and night, very efficiently," Putin added.
According to him, the characteristics and quality of weapons produced by the Russian defense industry are constantly growing. At the same time, if the special operation had not started, Moscow probably would not have been able to understand exactly how to set up the defense industry, the president noted.
About the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant
Putin believes that Ukraine's guilt in the destruction of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power plant is obvious, because Kiev clearly sought to do this.
According to him, the Russian side was definitely not interested in destroying the dam, since this entails serious negative consequences for new territories. Putin also considered the version that Moscow blew up the dam to prevent a counteroffensive in the Kherson direction far-fetched.
"It would be better if they were advancing there. It's better for us, because it would be absolutely bad for them to advance there. But since such a spill occurred, then, accordingly, the offensive did not take place," he said.
The Head of State guaranteed that all people affected by the destruction of the hydroelectric power station will be provided with assistance in accordance with the legislation. In particular, he has already instructed the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Alexander Kurenkov, to actively participate in assessing the damage caused to the property of people from flooded areas.
"Of course, a lot of livestock and wild animals died, unfortunately. It will be necessary to organize all this, clean up the territory," the president added.
About the counteroffensive
Putin acknowledged that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been conducting a large-scale counteroffensive in several directions since June 4 using previously prepared reserves.
"They started on the Vremyevsky ledge, on the Shakhtersky direction and on the Zaporozhye one. It was started with the use of strategic reserves and continues right now, right now, when we are here to discuss, there is a battle in several directions," he said.
At the same time, the President drew attention to serious losses in armored vehicles: in less than ten days Kiev lost over 160 tanks and more than 360 different armored vehicles in the counteroffensive. The Russian Armed Forces lost 54 tanks during the same period, some of which can be restored.
He also drew attention to the fact that the Russian army simply cannot record and calculate part of the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, since strikes are inflicted with high-precision weapons over long distances.
About attacks on Russian territory
One of the most pressing topics that was raised during the meeting of the president with military officers was attacks on Russian territory, especially on the Belgorod region. Putin explained that with these strikes, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are trying to distract the Russian Armed Forces from the areas where the offensive is taking place.
"Of course, there is nothing good in this, but, in principle, it could be assumed that the enemy would behave in this way, and it would probably be better to prepare," the head of state admitted.
According to him, the military structures should reconfigure the Russian air defense, which is primarily focused on missiles and airplanes, on drones.
"Of course, we must protect our citizens. What can we talk about here? Of course, we need to strengthen the border. And surely some of you work there, you see that this process is going on, it is going fast enough, this task will also be solved," the president also added.
"In general, there is no sense in introducing some kind of special regime, martial law in the country, there is no need for such a thing today. We need to work more carefully on some issues. We just need to improve the work of law enforcement and special services. It seems to me that the tasks in this regard are solvable," Putin explained.
About mobilization and contractors
The Head of State noted that the work on attracting citizens to contract service is going well in the country.
"Now, at this point in time, more than 150 thousand [contract workers] have been recruited, and together with volunteers, 156 thousand people. And we had a mobilization of 300 thousand, as we remember. People come voluntarily. In fact, the work began in February. And the work continues. Over the past week, 9.5 thousand people have signed contracts," the president said.
Putin once again stressed that conscripts are not being sent to the special operation zone and will not be sent. Even despite the fact that these territories are officially part of the country.
"Of course, today these territories are already the territories of the Russian Federation, but nevertheless a special military operation continues there, and there is no need, as the Ministry of Defense reports to me, to send them to this zone," the president explained.
At the same time, conscripts are present in the regions bordering the special operation zone - the Belgorod and Kursk regions. "Of course, they (conscripts. - "Newspaper.Ru") they are present there, which means that in case of a threat they must fulfill their sacred duty to the Motherland and defend the Fatherland," Putin said.
About new regions
The leadership of the new regions, according to the president, is in constant contact with the Kremlin and the government of the country. The territorial authorities regularly formulate their needs, transfer them to the federal center and receive the necessary.
One of the most important problems Putin called the level of salaries in the DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions. They need to reach the all-Russian level as soon as possible, especially for state employees and, in particular, medical workers.
"In general, in this area we will need to do - we will definitely do it - we will pull up to the all-Russian level and up to all-Russian standards, well, for example, certain categories of workers, including medicine, will have to receive an average, as we have in Russia, an average in the economy. And gradually we will move towards this," the president explained.
Mikhail Kotlyar
