{"id":105733,"date":"2024-12-20T04:03:13","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T04:03:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2024\/12\/20\/i-should-have-invaded-ukraine-earlier-putin-tells-russians-in-tv-marathon\/"},"modified":"2024-12-20T04:03:13","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T04:03:13","slug":"i-should-have-invaded-ukraine-earlier-putin-tells-russians-in-tv-marathon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/i-should-have-invaded-ukraine-earlier-putin-tells-russians-in-tv-marathon\/","title":{"rendered":"I should have invaded Ukraine earlier, Putin tells Russians in TV marathon"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Russia should have launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine earlier and been better prepared for the war.<\/p>\n

In his end-of-year press conference on Thursday, Putin said, with hindsight, there should have been \u201csystemic preparation\u201d for the 2022 invasion, which he refers to as a \u201cspecial military operation\u201d.<\/p>\n

Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and pro-Russian forces began a conflict in eastern Ukraine, but it was eight years later that Putin tried to seize Kyiv.<\/p>\n

During his four-hour long appearance, Putin also talked about Syria\u2019s deposed leader, Russia\u2019s more aggressive nuclear doctrine as well as domestic issues, like the price of butter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Billed as \u201cResults of the Year with Vladimir Putin\u201d, the event was broadcast live across the main state TV channels on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Putin appeared in front of a large blue screen emblazoned with a map of the Russian Federation, complete with annexed parts of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

He took questions from members of the public, foreign journalists and pensioners \u2013 but it was a highly choreographed and tightly controlled affair.<\/p>\n

When asked by the BBC\u2019s Russia editor Steve Rosenberg whether he felt the country was in a better state than where his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, had left it 25 years ago, Putin said Russia had regained its \u201csovereignty\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith everything that was happening to Russia before that, we were heading towards a complete, total loss of our sovereignty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked about the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, Putin insisted it was not a defeat for the Kremlin \u2013 which supported President Bashar al-Assad militarily for years \u2013 but he admitted the situation was \u201ccomplicated\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said he had not yet spoken to ousted Syrian leader, who fled to Moscow as rebel forces closed in on Damascus earlier this month, but planned to do so soon.<\/p>\n

He added that Russia was in talks with Syria\u2019s new rulers to retain two strategically important military bases on the Mediterranean coast and that Moscow would consider using them for humanitarian purposes.<\/p>\n

On US President-elect Donald Trump, Putin said the pair had not spoken in four years, but he was ready to meet him \u201cif he wants it\u201d.<\/p>\n

When put to him he was in a weak position compared to Trump, who is set to take office in January, Putin quoted American writer Mark Twain: \u201cThe rumours of my death are much exaggerated,\u201d prompting a smattering of laughs in the conference hall.<\/p>\n

Moving on to China, Putin said Russia\u2019s relations with its eastern neighbour had reached an all-time high and the two countries were coordinating actions on the world stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the last decade, the level and quality of our [Russia-China] relations have reached a point that has never existed throughout our entire history, \u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A lengthy portion of the session was focused on the war in Ukraine, with Putin saying he was \u201copen to compromises\u201d to end the war \u2013 although it was unclear what such compromises could entail.<\/p>\n

Russian forces are making progress on the frontlines \u201ceveryday\u201d, he said, describing his troops as \u201cheroes\u201d.<\/p>\n

At one point, he produced a signed flag he said was given to him by Russian marines who were \u201cfighting for the motherland\u201d in the Kursk region, and ushered two observers to hold it behind him for the cameras.<\/p>\n

He also talked up Russia\u2019s construction projects in areas it has seized from Ukraine, claiming the standard of roads in the Ukrainian region of Luhansk had greatly improved since it was seized by Russia-backed forces in 2014.<\/p>\n

When asked by an audience member if the West had \u201creceived the message\u201d on Russia\u2019s change to its nuclear doctrine, which\u00a0Putin pushed through in November<\/a>, he said \u201cyou\u2019ll have to ask them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new nuclear doctrine allows Russia to conduct a nuclear strike on any country, if it is backed by a nuclear power.<\/p>\n

That means if Ukraine were to launch a large attack on Russia with conventional missiles, drones or aircraft, that could meet the criteria for a nuclear response, as could an attack on Belarus or any critical threat to Russia\u2019s sovereignty.<\/p>\n

Putin also emphasised the capabilities of Russia\u2019s new intermediate-range ballistic missile, Oreshnik, which was used in a strike on Ukraine in November.<\/p>\n

In order to test its power, he suggested Russia should fire the Oreshnik towards Ukraine, and Ukrainian air defence \u2013 using US-supplied systems \u2013 should try to bring it down.<\/p>\n

As for the name \u201cOreshnik\u201d? \u201cHonestly,\u201d Putin said with a smirk, \u201cNo idea. No clue.\u201d<\/p>\n

A dominant theme throughout the event was \u201cRussian sovereignty\u201d, with Putin claiming that less reliance on international partners \u2013 partly a result of Western sanctions \u2013 was one of the key achievements of his invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

He said the economy was \u201cstable\u201d, pointing to higher growth than countries like Germany, but admitted inflation of 9.1% was \u201calarming\u201d.<\/p>\n

In fact, the economy is overheating and highly reliant on military production \u2013 sometimes termed the \u201cmilitary industrial complex\u201d.<\/p>\n

Throughout the address, Putin also answered questions on domestic issues \u2013 from telephone scammers to young people\u2019s struggles with getting a mortgage.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The post I should have invaded Ukraine earlier, Putin tells Russians in TV marathon<\/a> appeared first on KBC<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Russia should have launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine earlier and been better prepared for the war. In his end-of-year press conference on Thursday, Putin said, with hindsight, there should have been \u201csystemic preparation\u201d for the 2022 invasion, which he refers to as a \u201cspecial military operation\u201d. Russia seized […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105733"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105733\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}