The main moments of the meeting of the President of the Russian Federation with war correspondents
The Russian President invited war correspondents to the Kremlin, the conversation lasted several hours. Vladimir Putin did not object to the claims that the special military operation in Ukraine "has been going on for quite a long time", and there are no prospects for its completion in the near future. At the same time, he said that the goals set at the beginning of the special operation "are fundamental for us," but at the same time "change in accordance with the current situation."
He also noted the inevitable tendency to some kind of "radicalization" of a part of society, including those who "climbed under bullets." Putin also referred to himself as such, recalling the moment when his helicopter was "fired with tracer bullets", without specifying the place of events (it could be either a recent visit to new territories of the Russian Federation, or long-standing movements in the Chechen Republic).
SUMMER COUNTEROFFENSIVE
Perhaps the hottest topic of discussion at the meeting in the Kremlin on June 13 was the great battle in the Zaporozhye region. According to the assessment of the leadership of the Russian Federation, since June 4, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been attempting to conduct a large-scale counteroffensive using specially prepared reserves. As of the middle of the month, attacks continue in the Vremyevsky and Shakhtersky directions.
The enemy did not have success in any of the sectors of the front, but only sacrificed thousands of soldiers and officers. The structure of personnel losses for the AFU is extremely unfavorable. According to Moscow's estimates, it is approaching catastrophic.
Instead of the generally accepted ratio of total sanitary and irretrievable losses of "25 to 75" in the APU, it is almost "50 to 50". At the same time, the losses of the Russian troops holding the defense are ten times less in number and much better in ratio.
An even more serious situation for the APU is developing for armored vehicles. During the first half of June, the Ukrainian side lost over 160 tanks and 360 armored vehicles of various types in the offensive zone. And these are only confirmed losses directly on the front line. It is necessary to add to them the property destroyed by strikes with high-precision long-range weapons on accumulations of personnel and equipment.
According to the calculations of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the APU lost 25-30% of the equipment supplied from abroad, which is generally confirmed by open Western sources. According to the calculations of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, its own losses include 54 tanks, but some of them are subject to restoration and repair.
FLOODING
Responsibility for the flooding of vast territories of the Kherson region is assigned to the Kiev regime. With his submission, the APU repeatedly and purposefully fired at the Kakhovskaya HPP. Although no large gaps were recorded there, it cannot be ruled out that, taking into account the "bookmarks" left during the retreat of the APU, the integrity of the hydroelectric dam was violated. After that, intense destruction began.
The Russian side is aware of the severe consequences of flooding for the territories under its control. And also regrets that it disrupted the expected counteroffensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kherson direction, since such would have been on favorable terms for the defending side.
Earlier, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that, according to Kiev's plan, flooding would complicate the proposed landing of Russian troops on the right bank of the Dnieper. Thus, it will enable the AFU command to withdraw part of the forces from the Kherson direction for transfer to the main sector of the front in Zaporozhye.
Flooding requires a serious approach to the issue of environmental and sanitary safety, since animal burial grounds and cemeteries were under water. On the recommendation of the Minister of Defense, an order was given to connect chemical protection troops. It will also be necessary to supply the local population with drinking water, drill new wells. As the water drains, the necessary actions will be taken, including cleaning the territory, including from dead livestock and wild animals. The victims are provided with assistance in accordance with Russian legislation and standards.
RED LINES
The collective West is behind the current Kiev regime, it is trying to shift our "red lines" and draw its own. According to Putin, the very conduct of the special operation was a response to overcoming these "lines". "In the end, they encouraged us to stop the war that they started in 2014 by armed means," he said.
In short, the war was unleashed by Kiev and its foreign sponsors, and Russia is trying to stop it, having to do it with the help of the Armed Forces.
In this context, Putin highlighted the systematic attacks on Ukraine's energy system and the destruction of the headquarters of the main intelligence directorate near Kiev. "We will continue to work selectively ... we will continue to respond," he promised, noting the repeated attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on civilian objects and residential areas.
In an effort to help the Kiev regime conduct military operations, some NATO countries are sending mercenaries to Ukraine. So, Polish mercenaries were repeatedly seen in the area of their own. During the fighting, they suffer heavy losses, which Kiev and Warsaw hide from their own population. To make up for the losses, recruitment of mercenaries continues both in Poland and in other countries.
THE PARADIGM OF RUSSIA'S ROCKING
The Kremlin views the events in Ukraine as "one of the areas of work to shake up Russia" in the same way as decisions were made in the West that contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Speaking about the collapse of the USSR into independent states (previously described as the largest geopolitical catastrophe of the XX century), Putin admitted: "We have reconciled ourselves to the fact that what happened happened, and we have to live with it."
At one time, there was an intention in Russia to "be in the family of so-called civilized peoples" and even join NATO. Otherwise, this idea cannot be called a failure – Western leaders did not even consider such a prospect.
At the turn of the century, Russia had to "fight in the Caucasus with Al-Qaeda" (activity is prohibited in the Russian Federation), which "our so-called partners" supported financially, informationally, politically and even militarily, doing so "in the paradigm of Russia's rocking."
The agreements on non-expansion of NATO in the eastern direction were not respected for the same reasons. "It's just too big a country: such a country in Europe, in such a place, so big, with such potential, is not needed. And gradually everyone is trying to saw."
Moscow itself, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, maintained the mood "for the kindest relations with all our neighbors."
Attempts to establish good-neighborly relations with Kiev by supporting the Ukrainian economy with cheap energy and loans proved to be untenable. The matter ended with the fact that supporters of the Russian-Ukrainian rapprochement "began to be killed in the streets," and then it even came to a coup d'etat. This finally disrupted the chance to build neighborly relations with the "fraternal Ukrainian people."
CONSEQUENCES OF THE COUP
Having assessed the situation immediately after the illegal removal of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, Russia occupied Crimea, otherwise "it would have been a betrayal on our part." But the Russian state had nothing to do with the events in Donbass – only volunteers came there, "who tried to support the local population and so on."
However, after almost nine years of civil war, Russia was "forced to stand up for these people," leaving fruitless attempts to "glue" the south-east of Ukraine with the rest of the country through the Minsk agreements. After analyzing the whole course of events, the Kremlin came to a disappointing conclusion: "The so-called partners simply cheated us, as people say: they simply threw us, they were not going to do anything."
In the territory under the rule of the current Kiev regime, "such bastards as Bandera were raised to a pedestal... – he is a fascist." Speaking about this, Putin expressed surprise, "as a person who has Jewish blood in his veins, who heads the state of Ukraine, how can he support neo-Nazis." As you know, these Nazis "destroyed the civilian Jewish population." Despite this, Bandera "was elevated to the rank of a national hero and others like him, and now they are walking around with these posters." What is happening with the filing of the Kiev authorities "will never suit us in historical terms."
NEGOTIATIONS IN ISTANBUL
A month after the start of the SVO, at the talks in Istanbul, Moscow's representatives demanded from the Kiev interlocutors that they introduce restrictions on the activities of neo-Nazis at the level of the law. A general agreement was reached on this at the stage of the next round. It happened when Russian troops were standing near Kiev. But as soon as they moved away, the Ukrainian leaders "rejected all agreements."
Since then, Russia has been gradually, methodically engaged in the demilitarization of Ukraine. Systematic strikes are being carried out against the AFU facilities, factories producing military equipment, and electric power facilities. The production of military equipment in Ukraine is steadily decreasing, there are practically no working lines left even among the old Soviet enterprises. If there are those that continue to function, they are identified for subsequent failure.
By now, the military-industrial complex (MIC) of Ukraine has fallen into decline. So much so that "they don't produce a shisha." Putin predicted the complete cessation of the Ukrainian defense industry in the near future and said that this is how the issue related to the demilitarization of the country is practically solved.
In a word, the machine of the Ukrainian economy stops. Shipbuilding, aircraft industry, engine building collapsed even before the start of the SVO. Until recently, agriculture and the metallurgical industry remained its leading industries. As a result of the failure of generating capacities, there is not enough electricity for metallurgy and mechanical engineering.
Due to the lack of local production, the APU receives ammunition and equipment from abroad, mainly American and Western European production. "You won't live that long, you won't last," Putin believes.
Meanwhile, the West is proud of the weapons with which it pumps Ukraine in violation of international legal acts. Such supplies solve geopolitical goals in relation to Russia.
SHELL HUNGER
Talking with military officers, Putin cited figures gleaned from open foreign sources: the APU fires 5-6 thousand six-inch shells every day, while the monthly production rate in the United States is limited to 15 thousand pieces. The output is supposed to be increased to 75 thousand in 2005, but this will not be enough to replenish the depleted arsenals. Experiencing a shortage of conventional shells, foreign sponsors decided to supply the APU with armor-piercing with a depleted uranium head, the head of state believes. The reason is simple: they are available, which means that there is no need to think about organizing new productions. This is in the spirit of the Anglo-Saxons, they always behave very pragmatically, act exclusively in their own interests. The key to solving problems is on their side.
At one time, the leaders of the NATO countries made a promise not to expand the military-political bloc to the east. In fact, they conducted the case in the opposite direction, thereby "deceived everyone in a row." But they went even further, taking a course to expand NATO at the expense of territories with a Russian-speaking population, thus purposefully creating a serious threat to the Russian Federation.
The leaders of the collective West continue to seek the defeat of Russia, demand success from the Kiev leadership during the APU offensive. At the same time, the White House is going to further escalate with an increase in rates, pretending that it is not afraid of the consequences. However, Putin believes that such an impression is deceptive. "In fact, there are a lot of people with a healthy head, and they clearly do not want to lead the case to the third World War, in which there will be no winners, including there will be no winners in the form of the United States."
RUSSIAN DEFENSE INDUSTRY
Meanwhile, the domestic defense industry is on the rise, receiving additional resources for development. The Russian leadership is striving to prevent a quantitative lag behind the enemy, to overtake him in the most modern weapons systems. Putin considers this a "fundamental issue."
The basis of today's work of the defense industry was laid eight years ago, when a large-scale program of its modernization was launched. Large amounts of financing were allocated for it, modern equipment was purchased, and new factories were built.
However, in the course of the SVO, it became clear that a lot is missing, Putin admits. And clarifies: high-precision ammunition, modern anti-tank weapons, communication equipment, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
There are samples themselves, but there is not enough quantity, in particular, anti-tank complexes "Kornet" (they work perfectly, but are few in number), ZALA drones, barrage ammunition, compact means of counter-battery warfare. There are samples of electronic means, they are quite effective, but too complex. Fighters at the front want to get compact and easy to handle at their disposal. There are not enough UAVs of the Orlan family, and their quality needs to be improved, although they fulfill their task.
The T-90M "Breakthrough" shows itself well, today it is the best tank among those taking part in combat operations: he has better security, further and more accurate shooting. Even when detonated by a land mine, the T-90M remained in working condition.
In addition to factories that have been producing military equipment for a long time, there are hundreds of private small and medium-sized enterprises in the country that have not previously engaged in military production. They are involved in this work, demonstrating high efficiency.
Since the beginning of the SVO, the annual production in the country has increased 2.7 times in the main types of weapons, and 10 times in the most popular areas. Defense companies work in two shifts, many in three. Without stopping production day or night, contributing to the solution of the task of demilitarization of Ukraine.
"If there had not been a special military operation, we probably would never have understood how to rebuild our defense industry in order for our army to be the best in the world," Putin said.
THE PROBLEM OF FRAMES
When the special operation began, it quickly became clear that the "parquet" generals, to put it mildly, were ineffective. Meanwhile, any army of the world in peacetime has plenty of such. In the course of the SVO, people began to appear who seemed to be sitting in the shadows, but it turned out that they could act very effectively. They do not feel sorry for themselves, they boldly go into battle, and therefore they are the first to die at the front. "We need to look for such people – look for them and drag them up, send them to study, raise them in rank, in office, trust them more," Putin concluded.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov fully share this approach. It remains to overcome the resistance of the "multi-layered" bureaucracy that exists in any department. It is necessary to develop a "search and lift mechanism" that would raise such people to the level needed by the army and the country.
Communicating with the wounded soldiers of the 37th Motorized Rifle Brigade undergoing treatment in a hospital in Krasnogorsk, Putin asked how the defensive battle in the APU offensive zone was going on. Company commander Yuri Zhelanov said that at first the enemy conducted artillery preparation, and then tanks went. The personnel of the unit, without flinching, took the fight, the infantry were supported by fire crews of armored vehicles.
Putin believes that the nature of the battle in the APU offensive zone, in fact, does not differ from the events of the Great Patriotic War. Specific soldiers and officers are fighting, fighting, getting injured, dying… The past year has shown that sergeants fight well: a layer of junior commanders has grown.
The pilots also received the praise of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. Helping to stop the APU offensive, helicopter crews immediately knocked out several tanks, demonstrating high professional skills.
MILITANT ATTACKS AND DRONE ATTACKS
The AFU continues shelling new territories of the Russian Federation, as well as border areas. Moscow promises to move methodically along the line of protecting the local population until this issue is resolved.
The problem of border territories is due to Kiev's desire to divert part of the forces and means of the Russian army from the front. Thus, the directions that are considered the most important and critical from the point of view of the possible offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be weakened.
It is recognized that the problem of the enemy's behavior in the border area was underestimated and that it could have been better prepared for it.
At the same time, the Russian command does not see the need for the transfer of troops, but instead will strengthen the border, including through the construction of defensive structures. Earlier, the media reported that billions of rubles were released for this.
Defensive lines complicate the actions of reconnaissance and sabotage groups (RDG), but do not prevent artillery from shelling border areas from the territory of Ukraine.
So, in the morning of June 18, a summary for the day on the shelling of the Belgorod region from Ukraine appeared. It was published by the governor Vyacheslav Gladkov in his Telegram channel. More than a hundred shells, mines and grenades were struck on the territory of six municipalities.
There are several ways to solve this problem, including increasing the effectiveness of counter-battery warfare. If this alone is not enough, we will have to consider in the future the creation of a certain sanitary zone in Ukraine at a distance that does not allow enemy firepower to reach Russian territory.
In the meantime, the main focus is on the actions and activities of border guards in coordination with the Armed Forces. The activity of the enemy in our rear, from Belgorod and other border areas to the Kremlin itself, is reflected in the intensity of UAV flights. Sometimes Ukrainian drones attack military and infrastructural ones, in other cases – civilian ones.
Russian troops have gained some experience in countering UAVs during a counter-terrorism operation in the Syrian Arab Republic. Drones of illegal armed formations (IAF) dropped grenades on a military base in Khmeimim, causing casualties among the personnel. Gradually, they learned to deal with this threat in various ways and means. The accumulated experience is used in the SVO zone, but there is a longer front line here.
As the course of events shows, it is time for the relevant structures to make the necessary decisions. The traditional air defense system is configured to repel manned air raids. And the drones used by the IAF and the APU are mostly ultralight, made of composite materials and wood. Therefore, they are quite difficult to detect. It is necessary to carry out appropriate work to detect such targets, which was started with a certain delay. First of all, in relation to Moscow and other major cities.
SABOTAGE AND INFORMATION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS
The agents of the enemy's special services work on Russian territory. Figures in Kiev say that they have opened a "hunt" for leaders of public opinion. This is evidenced by several resonant attempts, including those that resulted in the death or injury of famous figures (Daria Dugina, Vladlen Tatarsky, Zakhar Prilepin). This once again confirms the terrorist nature of the current regime in Kiev.
The Russian state is fighting against enemy agents and special services. Some of the results of this work become public, including the detention of agents and employees of the special services of a neighboring state.
However, unlike the current authorities of Ukraine, the power structures of the Russian Federation cannot act by terrorist methods. Meanwhile, a regime based on terror has been established in Ukraine itself: martial law and very tough counterintelligence actions have been introduced.
According to the Russian leadership, there is no need to introduce martial law or any special regime in the country now. Instead, the work of law enforcement and special services should be improved and expanded.
The special services of Ukraine are actively operating in the new territories of the Russian Federation, using representatives of the local population from among those who disagree with the status change that has occurred. It is necessary to impose restrictions on the exchange of information, at the same time not forgetting about the main reason – the work of the opposing side. In fact, the information space has been turned into an important battlefield.
To understand who openly and honestly expresses his own position, and who does the work assigned to him, hiding behind a fictitious address, it is necessary to analyze the origin of messages. Modern tools allow you to post messages on the Internet in an automatic way, resorting to well-known technical means. And, further, to wind up the number of visits to the site, trying to attract users of the world Wide Web. At the same time, there is sometimes only one specific person behind the relevant actions, actively using modern means. An effective means of countering enemy information and psychological operations are not so much administrative restrictions or law enforcement claims, as their own effective work in the information sphere.
RECRUITMENT TO THE ARMY
How long will the citizens of the Russian Federation (and there are 300 thousand of them) called up for partial mobilization in the fall spend away from their home? The law does not provide for specific deadlines. The topic is being discussed in the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. When making decisions, the country's leadership will proceed from the availability of personnel and the development of the situation in the zone of its own. At the suggestion of the President of the Russian Federation, expressed in a Message to the Federal Assembly, a decision was made on regular vacations for military personnel. Of those who have already visited their relatives, 99% return to their place of service again.
The recruitment of military personnel under the contract this summer "is really going very well," and the training of volunteers before being sent to the SVO zone is "getting better and better." These issues are handled by Deputy Defense Ministers Burdinsky and Yevkurov. The remaining problems are mainly related to the supply of equipment. In the future, it is necessary to recruit applicants in a targeted manner, eliminating the shortage of specialists of a specific specialization or profession in the active army.
The existing legal framework seems to equalize volunteer formations operating at the front with private security structures. To bring it into line with reality, "something can be corrected" in the laws, and their provisions "additionally adjusted".
As a first step, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation enters into contracts with all voluntary associations, which gives their fighters social guarantees from the state. The second will be the adjustment of laws. Starting from January-February 2023, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation is working to conclude contracts with contract servicemen, by June the number of such has grown to 150 thousand, and together with volunteers - 156 thousand. People voluntarily stand up for the defense of the Fatherland: 9.5 thousand people signed contracts in just one summer week. Under these conditions, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation believes that there is no need for mobilization today.
Conscripts called up for military service are not sent to the zone of their military service. Although the republics of Donbass, Zaporozhye and Kherson region are included in the Russian Federation, the military department does not yet see the need to transfer conscripts there. But in the Belgorod, Kursk and other border regions, in places of traditional deployment of military units that ensure border security, conscripts are present. In case of a threat, they must fulfill their sacred duty to the Motherland and defend the Fatherland.
According to the report of the battalion commander who participated in the operation to defeat the enemy DRG in the Belgorod direction, all the soldiers of the unit are on active duty. Having received the command to go on the attack, no one flinched, everyone was very collected, worked efficiently. "The guys showed themselves in the best way," the Supreme Commander praised. And he explained that the events described happened in May, when Colonel-General Alexander Lapin personally walked with his service weapon along with the soldiers.
MOBILIZE ANOTHER MILLION OR TWO
The Supreme Commander-in-Chief is aware of the position of some public figures to urgently recruit another million or two mobilized. The practical implementation of this initiative depends on the goal, and Putin does not see "such a need today."
Russian troops were stationed near Kiev and were withdrawn when some progress was made at the talks in Istanbul. Then there was hope to resolve the situation by peaceful means. But the Kiev regime deliberately crossed out the preliminary documents signed by its representative.
Today, the active army is in the following positions: "And this is practically the whole of Novorossiya and a significant part of Donetsk with access to the Sea of Azov and Mariupol. And almost everything, with a few exceptions, in the Luhansk People's Republic."
Do Russian troops need to return to Kiev? Having asked a similar question to his interlocutors, the Russian leader himself called it "rhetorical" because "I can only answer it myself."
The further development of events on the battlefield will depend on the potentials that will develop at the end of the AFU counteroffensive. Perhaps the Kiev leadership will come to understand that the losses suffered by the Ukrainian Armed Forces are catastrophic, and will seriously think about what to do next? Moscow is monitoring the change in the situation and, based on the assessment of what is happening, will take further steps. "We have plans of a different nature depending on the situation that will develop when we deem it necessary to do something," Putin said.
Vyacheslav Ivanov
Vyacheslav Viktorovich Ivanov is a military expert and historian.
