Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that his country will continue to develop its military potential, including the “combat readiness” of its nuclear forces, in the midst of the conflict in Ukraine and the crisis with the West.
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The armed forces and combat capabilities of our armed forces are constantly increasing every day. “This operation, of course, we will develop,” Putin said during a meeting with senior military officers.
“We will continue to maintain and improve the combat readiness of our nuclear triad,” he added.
For example, he announced the entry into service of new Russian hypersonic cruise missiles “Zircon” at the beginning of January, which belong to the family of new weapons that Moscow has developed in recent years.
And the head of the Kremlin was speaking in front of an audience of senior officers, during a meeting that was supposed to define the goals of the Russian army for 2023, while it is fully engaged in Ukraine.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said one of the “priorities” would be “to continue to lead the special operation (in Ukraine) until all its tasks are accomplished.”
The latter also said that Moscow would deploy naval bases for “support ships, emergency rescue services and marine repair units” in the occupied Ukrainian cities of Berdyansk and Mariupol.
Mr. Shoigu also emphasized that “the Russian army in Ukraine opposes the combined forces of the West.” He added that “the increasing presence of the West on our and Belarusian borders, and the West’s willingness to prolong military operations in Ukraine as much as possible in order to weaken our country, are matters of particular concern.”
Sergei Shoigu considered it necessary to increase the number of personnel of the Russian army to 1.5 million, raise the minimum age for military service and create two new military-administrative entities in northwestern Russia.
“I agree with your proposals regarding future structural changes in the Armed Forces,” replied Vladimir Putin, assuring that these changes would take place “without harm” to Russian society and the economy.
Putin also briefly paid tribute to the fallen Russian soldiers during the attack.
It is clear that military operations are always associated with tragedies and loss of life. But since it is inevitable, today is better than tomorrow.
Putin added that the conflict in Ukraine was a “common tragedy” but that Russia was not responsible.
He also confirmed that Moscow has no problem financing its military campaign, despite Western sanctions.
“We have no restrictions on funding. The state and government provide everything the army asks for. Everything really!”
He noted that 300,000 Russians had been mobilized since that date and that “a part” of them was already in the fighting.
“150,000 (mobilized) are being trained in the military bases. It is a sufficient reserve to carry out operations, and it is a strategic reserve that is not used in military operations,” he said.
