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President Vladimir Putin said his armed forces would be supplied with whatever they asked for, without financial restrictions, and that the Sarmat hypersonic missile – dubbed Satan II – would be ready for deployment in the near future. at a year-end meeting of Russia’s top defense officials.
The president also pledged that Moscow would meet all the goals — without giving many details — of its invasion of Ukraine, declaring Russian soldiers and defense chiefs “heroes.”
Mr Putin said the NATO military alliance was using its full capacity against Russia and urged the assembled military leaders to use their experience gained in fighting in Syria and during the 10 months of the invasion in the new year. The president said that the combat readiness of the country’s nuclear forces must be ensured, and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu added that the process of supplying new weapons to the troops had been accelerated.
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Mr. Shoigu also proposed expanding the army from its current roughly one million personnel to 1.5 million in light of the fighting in Ukraine. Shoigu said the number should include 695,000 contract volunteers. Mr Shoigu also proposed raising the age range for compulsory Russian military service to cover Russian citizens aged 21 to 30. According to the current law, Russians between the ages of 18-27 can be called up for compulsory military service. Putin — who just this summer signed a decree ordering troop numbers to be increased by 137,000 from Jan. 1, 2023, to reach 1.15 million, and ordered the mobilization of 300,000 reservists in September — backed both proposals.
But Mr. Shoigu and Mr. Putin have repeatedly said that those who undergo mandatory service are not sent to fight in Ukraine and are kept in reserve. Moscow suffered significant troop losses during its invasion.
Mr Shoigu also said the Russian army would form new units in the west of the country in view of plans by Finland and Sweden to join NATO and said Russian forces were actively destroying Ukraine’s military potential and accused the West of tries to “bring on” the conflict.
Mr Putin said changes to Russia’s armed forces would be made “calmly” and “will not be rushed”, but did not say when they would be implemented. He said this could be achieved without militarizing the economy and that the reforms would not undermine the quality of social services for the people of his country. Putin must know that any move to increase troop numbers through conscription will be deeply unpopular with the Russian public, who do not want their relatives sent to the front lines.
The Russian leader also admitted that the call-up of 300,000 reservists he ordered in September had not been well received or gone as smoothly as expected. “The partial mobilization that has taken place has revealed certain problems, as everyone is well aware, which must be resolved promptly,” he said. The leader added that 150,000 of the reservists have been sent to combat zones and the rest are undergoing training.
Mr Putin’s address also made references to unspecified problems in the military – and he said constructive criticism should not be overlooked. “I ask the Ministry of Defense to be attentive to all civilian initiatives, including to consider criticism and respond correctly, in a timely manner,” he said.
“It is clear that the reaction of people who see problems – and in such a large, complex work there always are – can be emotional, but we need to hear from those who do not silence existing problems, but seek to contribute to their solution.” added Putin.
Speaking of Ukraine itself, Mr Putin said he still considered Ukrainians – who were killed in the tens of thousands, forced to flee in their millions and saw entire towns and cities destroyed – a “brotherly” people.
“What is happening is, of course, a tragedy, our common tragedy, but it is not the result of our policy,” Mr. Putin said, preferring to blame what he called “third” countries “who are always aimed at this, the collapse of the Russian world… to some extent they succeeded and brought us to the limit where we are now.’
The Kremlin announced early on Friday that Mr Putin would make “important” remarks at the year-end meeting, following an announcement from Kyiv that President Volodymyr Zelensky was on his way to Washington for talks with President Joe Biden at the White House, the first foreign trip of the Ukrainian leader since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
Mr Biden and Mr Zelensky set to announce new $2bn (£1.65bn) defense aid package, including Patriot missile batteries and training for Ukrainian armed forces – Ukraine urges Western leaders to halt the amount of weapons and defense systems sent to Kyiv as Russia ramps up its missile campaign against energy and water infrastructure during the bitter winter months.
Mr Zelensky will also address a joint session of Congress late on Wednesday after receiving a standing ovation from both Republicans and Democrats during a previous address in March in the earliest days of the Russian invasion.
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