Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said Russia was “in no hurry” to end the campaign in Ukraine, stating that the strategy of Russian forces has not changed and that they are still seizing territory.
“Our offensive operations in Donbass have not stopped, they are advancing bit by bit,” Putin told a news conference in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
“I stress that we are not fighting with our entire army. We only fight with the part that has a contract [profissional]”, he added. The Kremlin has officially banned the sending of recruits to the front and refuses to carry out a general mobilization in the country.
“The plan [de operações] doesn’t need any changes. […] We’re in no hurry,” he said.
The president said operations continued despite major counteroffensives by the Ukrainian army in the northeast and south of the country. “The Kiev authorities have announced that they have launched a counteroffensive. […] Let’s see how it ends,” Putin said.
According to him, the main goal of the Kremlin remains “the liberation of the entire Donbass region”, the mining basin in eastern Ukraine formed by the Lugansk region in the hands of the Russian army and the Donetsk region, which is partially occupied by Moscow .