Putin acknowledges that Russia’s conflict in Ukraine may last for a while

Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, conceded that his country’s army might be fighting in Ukraine for a while, but he insisted that there won’t be a second call-up of troops just yet.
Putin told loyalists in a televised meeting on Wednesday that the war, which he started more than nine months ago, might continue for some time. Putin has rarely discussed how long a war lasts.
He warned that the process might take a while.
In response to Ukrainian counteroffensives in the east and south that have been armed with an increasing amount of Western weapons since July, Russia has been driven into a number of substantial retreats.
In February, Russia began what it refers to as its “special military operation,” claiming that Ukraine’s growing links to the West presented a security danger. The invasion is being described by Ukraine and its allies as an imperialist territory grab.
In his speech, Putin stated that although there was a growing possibility of nuclear war, Russia would not carelessly threaten to use such weapons.
Putin stated, “We haven’t gone insane; we understand what nuclear weapons are. “We possess these tools in a more sophisticated and contemporary form than any other nuclear power. But we’re not going to start flaunting this weapon around like a razor in public.”
The partial mobilisation order’s short-term negative impact on Russia’s economy has been overcome, but the disinflationary effect it had on the country’s consumer demand has all but vanished, according to the central bank on Wednesday.
Despite recent military retreats, notably the fall of Kherson, the one provincial capital of Ukraine that Russia had managed to conquer, Putin has stated he has no regrets about starting a conflict that has grown to be the most destructive in Europe since World War Two.
With the acquisition of “new territory,” he said that Russia had accomplished a “big success,” alluding to the unlawful annexation of four partially occupied regions that Ukraine and the majority of UN members denounced in September.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated in his nightly video message that on Wednesday, Russian shelling in the eastern Ukrainian village of Kurakhove resulted in the deaths of ten persons and the injuries of many more.
Zelenskiy, who was named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” for 2022 on Wednesday for his leadership, said, “These were peaceful people, ordinary people.”
Credit: Reuters