Putin: Ukrainians are being seized from streets and forced into army
Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that Ukrainian men are being seized from the streets and forcibly sent into the military as Kyiv struggles with what he described as a severe shortage of personnel.
Putin made the remarks at the Konstantinovsky Palace during a meeting with the heads of international news agencies, responding to a question from D. Jordan about the situation on the battlefield and the prospects for a negotiated settlement in Ukraine, News.az reports.
The journalist referred to recent Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory, including strikes near St. Petersburg and disruptions at Pulkovo Airport. He also cited comments by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio describing the conflict as a catastrophe and arguing that its objectives could not be achieved by military means alone.
Putin was asked whether Russia intended to take control of the entire Donbas region or was prepared to reach a deal.
“First of all, one does not rule out the other. Taking control of the entire Donbas region and reaching a deal do not contradict each other,” Putin replied.
The Russian president questioned why military control of Donbas and a negotiated agreement should be viewed as mutually exclusive.
He also referred to Rubio as a serious partner and said Moscow remained in contact with him. However, Putin argued that statements by US officials should be viewed against the backdrop of the complicated domestic political situation in the United States.
“What the secretary of state says on a particular issue inside the country is, of course, of interest to us, but we are more interested in the actual situation,” Putin said.
According to the Russian leader, the situation on the battlefield is currently developing in Moscow’s favour. He claimed that Russian forces were advancing across the entire line of contact.
“There is no section where Russian forces are not advancing,” he said.
Putin described the shortage of military personnel as the most serious problem facing the Ukrainian armed forces. He claimed that the total strength of Ukraine’s military had recently declined by around 100,000 people.
The Russian president further alleged that Ukraine was losing approximately 40,000 military personnel each month. According to his figures, forced mobilisation brings in around 15,000 to 16,000 recruits monthly, while approximately 14,000 soldiers return to service after receiving hospital treatment.
Putin claimed that this results in a net monthly decline of around 10,000 personnel, in addition to approximately 20,000 cases of desertion every month.
He accused the Ukrainian authorities of forcibly recruiting people who have no motivation to fight.
“People there, as you know, are being caught in the streets like stray dogs and forcibly pushed into the army,” Putin said.
He further claimed that around 60,000 Ukrainian soldiers had deserted since the beginning of the year and that approximately 200,000 criminal cases had been opened in Ukraine over desertion.
These figures and allegations were presented by Putin and were not independently verified during the meeting.
The Russian president argued that personnel shortages were contributing to Ukraine’s loss of territory and settlements. He claimed that Russian forces had recently taken control of approximately 2,440 square kilometres and were continuing to advance on a daily basis.
Turning specifically to Donbas, Putin claimed that Russia had taken full control of the Luhansk region and now controlled more than 85 percent of the Donetsk region.
According to him, Ukraine had until recently controlled around 25 percent of the Donetsk region, but that figure had now fallen below 15 percent.
Putin also claimed that Russian forces controlled around 80 percent of the Zaporizhzhia region and said that the military advance was continuing every day.
His remarks suggested that Moscow continues to link the possibility of a negotiated settlement with developments on the battlefield and its objective of securing control over the whole of Donbas.
By Faig Mahmudov
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