Speaking to the military leadership, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin said he was convinced Russia was winning its war of aggression in Ukraine. “I am sure that step by step we will achieve all our goals,” he said at a televised meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that the armed forces would be increased to 1.5 million in view of NATO’s planned expansion.
Putin began his speech with a minute of silence for the fallen soldiers. However, he judged the war as a valuable experience for the further development of his own army. Putin compared his war of aggression against the neighboring country with the patriotic war against Napoleon in 1812 and with the First and Second World Wars.
Putin wants more and better drones
The 70-year-old called for a faster upgrade and modernization of the armed forces. He cited the use of drones as an example. Until now, this was considered a weak point of the Russian armed forces. Drones should be available at all levels of warfare, Putin said. “Every soldier should have the ability to extract information from drones.” There are “no financial constraints” on the further upgrade of the army, the Kremlin chief stressed, who also announced that the Russian hypersonic missile RS-28 “Sarmat” (in NATO classification also SS-X-30 “Satan II” ) will be operational in the near future.
The missile has a range of 18,000 kilometers and can be equipped with multiple nuclear warheads. Defense Minister Shoigu said 22 launch pads for ICBMs, including the Sarmat, Avantgarde and Jars types, are to be commissioned next year. Three long-range Tupolev Tu-160M bombers, five submarines and twelve warships would also be commissioned.
The “Sarmat” missile can hit targets worldwide
Russia had tested “Sarmat” during its war in Ukraine in April. The missile will allow Russia to strike from both the North and South Poles and hit targets around the world. Putin had stated that for a long time there would be nothing in the world that could compare to the missile. The complex has “the best tactical and technical characteristics and is capable of overcoming all modern means of missile defense”.
From the top of the military, Putin demanded an improvement in military performance in Ukraine. He referred to unspecified issues and demanded that constructive criticism be taken into account. “I call on the Ministry of Defense to also consider the criticism and to respond in a timely and correct manner,” Putin said. Bloggers sympathetic to the Russian government have also expressed displeasure with the performance of Russian generals in the past. In addition, the abandonment of conquered territories after Ukrainian offensives was criticized.
Increased by 350,000 soldiers
Later during the televised meeting, Defense Minister Shoigu announced a significant increase in the country’s armed forces to 1.5 million. This corresponds to an increase of 350,000 soldiers. Putin agreed to the proposals.
Above all, the regular soldiers need to be significantly replenished. Their number is expected to rise to 695,000. At the same time, the age period during which young men can be called up as conscripts is being extended. Shoigu proposes a maximum of 30 years. So far in Russia it is mainly young men who are called up after the age of 18.
According to Schoigus, all this serves the necessary expansion of the armed forces due to the expansion of NATO. The 67-year-old therefore called for new units to be set up, especially in northwestern Russia on the border with potential new NATO countries Sweden and Finland.
Source: Krone
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