Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized on the 16th (local time) that Russia holds firm leadership across the entire front line in Ukraine. He warned that Western countries are pushing Russia to a 'red line' and that Russia might lift missile restrictions in response to the U.S. missile deployments.
According to TASS and Sputnik news agencies, President Putin said in a speech at an expanded meeting of the Russian Ministry of Defense officials that "the combat activities of the Russian military have firmly secured strategic leadership across the entire front." He emphasized that "this year has been a breakthrough year in achieving the goals of the 'special military operation,'" highlighting that the Russian military has occupied 189 Ukrainian villages this year alone.
In this regard, Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov explained that the Russian military has "liberated" 4,500 square kilometers of Ukraine this year and is advancing at an average of 30 square kilometers per day. He added that Ukraine controls less than 1% of Luhansk and only 25-30% of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions. He also claimed that more than 560,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been casualties on the battlefield this year, and the total Ukrainian military losses during the special military operation period have nearly reached one million.
TASS cited slide materials released at the meeting, reporting that Ukrainian military casualties increased from 405,400 at the end of 2023 to 975,100 currently, and military equipment losses rose from 51,000 to 109,600 during the same period. However, Russian military casualties were not mentioned. Bloomberg reported that Western countries, including the U.S., estimate Russian military casualties at around 700,000.
Alongside this, President Putin claimed that the West is pushing Russia to a 'red line' and asserted that Russia's nuclear weapons serve as a deterrent to protect the country. He specifically mentioned that the U.S. is attempting to transfer and deploy medium- and short-range missiles to Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, stating, "If the U.S. deploys such missiles, Russia will lift all voluntary restrictions on missile deployment." Furthermore, he said that mass production of weapons like Russia's latest medium-range missile, Oreshnik, will soon be established to ensure the security of Russia and its allies.
Minister Belousov also mentioned that the purpose of the Russian Ministry of Defense's activities is to guarantee full preparedness for all medium-term developments, including the possibility of military conflict with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) within the next ten years. He cited the NATO summit in July and the military documents of NATO allies as grounds for Russia to prepare for direct confrontation with NATO. Additionally, he referred to the U.S. announcement in July to deploy long-range missiles in Germany, stating that the U.S. missiles deployed in Germany could reach Moscow within eight minutes.
Meanwhile, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who will take office in January next year, stated at a press conference on the same day that he would engage in talks with President Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to end the war in Ukraine. He criticized the Biden administration's approval of the use of U.S.-made long-range missiles in Ukraine and claimed that if he had been in power, Russia's invasion of Ukraine would not have occurred.
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