Posted on 06/13/2023 4:14:06 PM PDT by Mariner
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday alternated threats of a new Russian offensive to grab more Ukrainian land with statements about the Kremlin's readiness for peace talks.
Speaking during a far-ranging meeting with Russian military correspondents and war bloggers, he made some of the most extensive comments about the conflict and his goals since sending the troops into Ukraine more than 15 months ago.
Here is a quick look at some of Putin's key statements:
UKRAINIAN COUNTEROFFENSIVE
Putin asserted that Ukraine has suffered “catastrophic” losses in its counteroffensive.
He said Ukrainian troops amassed reserves to launch the “large-scale” operation on June 4, but he claimed that the effort has failed to score gains and that Ukraine has lost 10 times more soldiers than Russia. His claims could not be verified.
Putin declared that Ukraine lost 160 battle tanks and over 300 other armored vehicles, while Russia only lost 54 tanks. He alleged that the Ukrainian armor losses represented 25% to 30% of the number of Western armored vehicles supplied to Ukraine.
He noted with a smirk that German-made Leopard battle tanks and U.S.-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicles “are burning really well,” adding that leaders in Kyiv must now realize the disastrous consequences of the counteroffensive.
PONDERING NEW LAND GAINS
Putin said Moscow could respond to alleged Ukrainian incursions and shelling of Russia's border regions by carving out what he described as a “sanitary zone” to prevent Kyiv from launching such attacks.
The zone would extend "to a depth that would prevent it from striking our territory,” he added.
Asked how deep into Ukraine Russia could go, Putin responded coyly, saying that “everything will depend on potentials that emerge after the so-called counteroffensive.”
“We will look at the situation and decide on our next moves,” he said. “We have various plans depending on the situation.”
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
Just watch.
Putin can have peace just as soon as he ends the war and goes home. That simple.
But in no circumstance should that ****er be allowed to profit in any way from this utterly needless war.
So the upshot is there’s hot air coming out of Putin’s mouth that is forming palatable words. If Putin really wants peace he can pull out of Ukraine any day he likes.
are you a juvenile?
Stop sending money to Ukraine and this war ends
Nope. Russia started it. Russia has to end it. Or face the inevitable loss of Siberia when China figures it’s time.
“If Putin really wants peace he can pull out of Ukraine any day he likes.”
A lot of the power a strong man ruler possesses is his perception of power. Putin dare not show weakness.
It’s hard to know the internal power dynamics in Moscow when we view it from Texas. However, it does seem as if Prigozhin is sensing that weakness.
Pooty-poot Putin puffer Putler fluffer RuZZZZian Orc Stalinist Nazi Commie why do you hate America?
Like that?
Well that didn't take long!
A lot of the power a strong man ruler possesses is his perception of power. Putin dare not show weakness. It’s hard to know the internal power dynamics in Moscow when we view it from Texas. However, it does seem as if Prigozhin is sensing that weakness.
Good point. Putin's best bet at this point is probably to flee the country and leave the mess of the Ukraine war for his successor to clean up. Putin's not an idiot. He must see the writing on the wall as far as Prigozhin's concerned. My theory is the only reason he got himself into this situation in the first place was because after decades of purging those who told him things he didn't want to hear his sycophants assured him that the Russian soldiers would be greeted as "liberators", much like W with the Iraq war.
Zelensky threatened to get nukes before Russia decided to do a pre-emptive defense to stop weapons of mass destruction
“are you a juvenile?”
Spoken like a 12 year old girl.
The very day after that article was published the Russian tanks rolled.
Wow, Nuland gave out cookies. INVADE!
“Stop sending money to Ukraine and this war ends”
* If Ukraine runs out of Leopard tanks they will fight with T-84s
* If they run out of T-84s they will fight on with pick-up trucks
* If they run out of pick-up trucks they will fight on foot.
Would you do any less to defend your homeland from a foreign invader?
Question: who has taken more territory?
* Russia in the whole of its winter offensive?
* Ukraine in week 1 of its summer offensive?
LOL, "pre-emptive defense".
No different than Bush taking out weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. After all, you neocons agreed to that, right? ;)
“Zelensky threatened to get nukes before Russia decided to do a pre-emptive defense to stop weapons of mass destruction.”
Nice try, kid. A pre-emptive “defense” to stop weapons of mass destruction? What, was Russia planning on attacking itself? Ukraine had and has no nukes.
In any event, what Zelensky said was — in alluding to the Budapest Agreement — that if Ukraine had to rely solely on itself for security it would consider acquiring nukes, as an ultimate defense.
Ukraine has the knowledge and expertise to build them, so it is not out of the question. It’s interesting that it has not done so since the February 22, 2022 invasion by Russia, especially after all the hot rhetoric coming from Russia that it (Russia) is thinking about nuking all and sundry.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.