Putin admits weapons shortage but claims he could try to seize even more of Ukraine despite counteroffensive

Russian President Vladimir Putin recommended Tuesday that he may order his troops to attempt to seize extra land in Ukraine to guard bordering Russian territory — a risk with questionable credibility as a result of the Kremlin lacks full management over areas it has already illegally annexed. In a few of his most detailed remarks concerning the conflict in months, the Russian chief made a uncommon acknowledgment of shortages of some important weapons and ammunition, however claimed Ukraine’s recently-launched counteroffensive was failing, with Kyiv’s forces struggling “catastrophic” battlefield losses.

Putin stated Russia was wanting “high-precision ammunition, communications tools, plane, drones, and so forth” — regardless of weapon manufacturing having elevated over the previous yr in his nation.

He spoke hours earlier than Belarussian autocrat Alexander Lukashenko, one among Putin’s few shut allies within the area, stated the nation simply north of Ukraine had began taking supply of the Russian tactical nuclear weapons that Putin introduced weeks in the past could be deploy to Belarus.

Ukraine rapidly denied Putin’s claims about its counteroffensive, insisting gradual progress was being made alongside the 600-mile entrance line that stretches from the nation’s northern border with Belarus to the Black Sea on its southern coast.

Navy analysts and U.S. officers describing the counteroffensive to CBS Information have stated Ukraine has but to commit the majority of its forces to the brand new push and is probably going nonetheless probing sections of the lengthy entrance line to find out weak factors for a extra concerted assault on Russia’s occupying forces.

For weeks, even earlier than the counteroffensive began gaining steam, Russia’s personal territory — even the Kremlin in Moscow — has confronted drone and small-scale floor assaults, a few of them claimed by Ukraine-aligned Russian separatist teams. Talking with a particular group of conflict bloggers and protection reporters on the Kremlin on Tuesday, Putin acknowledged that his forces may have been higher ready for such assaults, and it was these he stated may search to discourage by ordering Russian troops to “create on Ukrainian territory a sort of sanitary zone at such a distance from which it will be unattainable to get our territory.”

The Russian chief spoke on the heels of Ukrainian claims to have recaptured no less than seven small villages within the east of the nation in current days. However the Ukrainian counteroffensive’s good points have been restricted and either side have acknowledged a urgent want for extra weapons and ammunition.

Whereas Putin claimed his nation was ramping up manufacturing of the wanted {hardware}, the U.S. authorities introduced its newest army help package deal for Ukraine — a drawdown of current U.S. provides value some $325 million, which is able to embrace extra armored preventing and infantry transport autos.

Putin heralded the destruction and seize of a few of the American-made Stryker and Bradley preventing autos that Ukraine had already taken possession of, and mockingly stated European-supplied tanks had been “burning nicely.”

Whereas Ukraine is raring for extra autos, tanks and munitions, CBS Information correspondent Ian Lee stated Kyiv was additionally desperately in want of extra air defenses, as highlighted by the newest lethal missile and drone salvos.

Russian missiles struck a Ukrainian metropolis for the second night time in a row, this time concentrating on the southern port metropolis of Odesa. Native officers stated the one one among 4 Russian cruise missiles launched from the Black Sea that bought via its air defenses struck a enterprise heart and warehouse, killing no less than three individuals and leaving 13 others wounded.

Putin made a number of different notable remarks in his nearly-two-hour dialogue with the Russian conflict bloggers and journalists:

• He reiterated Russia’s declare that Ukraine was accountable for blowing up the Kakhovka dam and hydro-electric energy plant on the Dnieper River, which prompted huge flooding on either side of the entrance line final week within the nation’s south, killing no less than 17 individuals. Ukraine says it was Russia that destroyed the dam, which it seized months earlier, “from inside.” 
• Putin claimed Ukraine had misplaced 160 tanks and greater than 360 different armored autos, whereas Russia misplaced 54 tanks because the new counteroffensive started. These claims couldn’t be instantly verified, however a U.S. official conversant in American intelligence stated Putin’s feedback had been “not correct” and cautioned in opposition to placing any inventory in Russia’s public assessments.  
• He stated Russia’s protection trade had ratcheted up manufacturing of drones and different weapons however nonetheless wanted extra, and claimed the West was additionally struggling to provide extra weapons and ammunition.
• Putin threatened that Russia may pull out of a U.N.-backed deal to permit grain shipments from Ukraine via a demilitarized Black Sea maritime hall.
• He claimed america may cease the conflict by halting weapons shipments to Ukraine, leaving it too weak to hold on the struggle, and recommended the West would ultimately hand over on the struggle and settle for that Ukraine may “by no means” win the conflict.