Russian President Vladimir Putin made sweeping claims during a recent press tour, including promises that the Russian military will end its operations in Ukraine, in victory.
“In fact, large-scale hostilities in Donbas have not stopped since 2014, with the use of heavy equipment, artillery, tanks and planes. Everything happened,” Putin told veterans and residents of St. Petersburg. “Everything we do today, even in a special military operation, is an attempt to stop this war. That is the meaning of our operation.”
He stated that the victory in Ukraine “would protect our people who live there, in these territories.”
“Russia has accepted this event, despite the fact that these are our historical territories. However, we could not but react to what began to happen there,” he was quoted as saying by Russian state media RIA Novosti.
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At another event, during which he visited workers at the Obukhov plant in St. Petersburg, Putin announced that “the defense industry is now loaded,” which means the government may consider “granting a deferment to those who should be called up for military service. According to the Russian state news agency TASS.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting to mark the 80th anniversary of a breakthrough in the siege of Leningrad during World War II at the Leningrad State Defense and Siege Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on January 18. of 2023.
(Sputnik/Ilya Pitalyov/Pool via Reuters)
“In terms of achieving the final result and the victory that is inevitable, there are several things… It is the unity and cohesion of the Russian people and Russian multinational, the courage and heroism of our fighters… and of course the hard work of the military-industrial complex and factories like yours and people like you,” Putin said. “Victory is assured, I have no doubt about it.”
Rebekah Koffler, president of Doctrine and Strategy and a former DIA intelligence officer, told Fox News Digital that Putin seeks to “sow confusion among Western analysts” with his rhetoric, and Russian headlines proudly claim that his officials “target end hostilities in Ukraine”. .”
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“This is a typical Russian disinformation operation, a standard trade,” Koffler said. “In reality, Putin does not seek to end his war against Ukraine. What he really means is that Russia will end hostilities in Ukraine on his terms, that is, when an agreement is reached with Ukraine and the West.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with employees at the Obukhov plant in Saint Petersburg, Russia, January 18, 2023.
(Sputnik/Ilya Pitalyov/Pool via Reuters)
Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine remain a topic of great interest as the conflict approaches the one-year mark: Putin in December 2022 insisted that Russia was “ready to negotiate with all involved on acceptable solutions”, But an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Putin “needs to come back to reality.”
“Russia single-handedly attacked Ukraine and is killing citizens. There are no other ‘countries, motives, geopolitics,'” Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted. “Russia does not want negotiations, but tries to avoid responsibility.”
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Emergency workers clear rubble after a Russian rocket hit a multi-story building, leaving many people under the rubble, in Dnipro, Ukraine, on January 14, 2023.
(AP / Evgeny Maloletka)
Koffler explained that for Russia, “acceptable solutions” would include granting the four annexed territories and releasing claims to Crimea.
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“[Putin] he is increasing his army to 1.5 million,” Koffler said. “He is widening the scope of the operation, turning it into an all-out war, not narrowing it down.”
Putin ordered a brief ceasefire on January 6, the date of Orthodox Christmas, at the urging of religious leader Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian church. The ceasefire lasted until January 7, although reports indicated that Russia continued fighting at “routine levels” during the 24-hour period.
Paul Best of Fox News Digital and Reuters contributed to this report.
