MOSCOW – The Kyiv regime and its Western supporters have not gained, and will not gain, any strategic advantage over Russia, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He made this statement in response to questions from the media. According to a transcript published on the official Kremlin website, he spoke about the development of the conflict, Ukrainian attacks, and the situation at the front lines as well as in the Ukrainian economy.
Putin described Kyiv's attempts to achieve a major turning point in its confrontation with Russia as unsuccessful. He also called the alleged plan to defeat Russia within 40 days another risky move. According to him, this is another example of a strategy that Kyiv is adopting under the influence of its Western partners. At the same time, the Russian president claimed that Ukraine has long been seeking to weaken and subsequently collapse Russia. However, he believes that these ideas do not reflect the actual course of the conflict. "The Kyiv regime and its masters have not gained any advantage over Russia, and they will never gain it," Putin said.
One of the main topics of his statement was also attacks on infrastructure and civilian objects. Putin stated that, according to Moscow, Kyiv "opened Pandora's Box" when it began carrying out attacks against civilian targets, and now, he says, it is facing a response from the Russian armed forces. Russia has recently intensified its strikes against Ukrainian defense industry enterprises, including facilities in Kyiv. Moscow links this intensification to Ukrainian attacks on logistical facilities and other infrastructure.
At the same time, the Russian president emphasized that, according to him, the response of the Russian armed forces should be more sensitive and destructive than the attacks by Kyiv themselves. These statements fit into a long-standing Russian argument that strikes against Ukrainian military and industrial infrastructure are a reaction to attacks against Russian targets. Putin also commented on the economic situation in Ukraine. According to his assessment, the Ukrainian economy is in a very difficult situation and "is on its last legs." He also described the situation in Ukrainian agriculture as problematic.
The Russian president thus linked his assessment of the conflict not only to the military situation but also to the economic consequences of the ongoing fighting. According to his interpretation, despite long-term support for Ukraine from Western countries, it has not been possible to achieve a strategic breakthrough that would lead to the weakening of Russia. At the same time, the Kremlin continues to present the Russian military operation as a conflict in which Moscow, according to its assessment, has sufficient resources to continue fighting and to respond to Ukrainian attacks. Therefore, Putin's recent statements are primarily a Russian interpretation of the development of the conflict and the economic situation in Ukraine.