TIG Post

Tag: Astana

  • Ukraine war: Putin says there will be no more huge strikes for the time being

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that there is no need for any big strikes on Ukraine, just days after the country was bombarded with the worst bombing since the war began.

    He stated that the majority of the planned targets of the strikes had been hit, but that it was not his intention to destroy Ukraine.

    He predicted that Moscow‘s goal of mobilising 300,000 men would be met in two weeks.

    It comes as Russian forces are mostly in retreat and Ukraine advances, almost eight months since the invasion.

    Speaking to journalists after a summit with regional leaders in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana, the Russian leader said that the recent strikes had destroyed 22 out of the 29 targets in Ukraine set by the military and that “they are getting” the remaining seven.

    “There’s no need for massive strikes. We now have other tasks,” he said.

    From Monday onwards, Russia unleashed a wave of strikes on cities across Ukraine, in what Mr Putin said was retaliation for a blast that damaged a key bridge between Russia and annexed Crimea.

    Dozens of people were killed and injured in the strikes, which also damaged infrastructure. Central areas of Kyiv were targeted for the first time since the invasion.

    But Mr Putin said it was not Russia’s intention to destroy Ukraine, but he did not regret the invasion.

    “What is happening today is not pleasant, to put things mildly,” he said. “But all the same, [if Russia hadn’t attacked] we would have been in the same situation, only the conditions would have been worse for us. So we’re doing everything correctly and at the right time.”

    President Putin said 220,000 men had been mobilised, of whom 16,000 were already in combat. He saw no need for additional mobilisation, he added.

    However, the call-up has caused widespread discontent in Russia, with tens of thousands of men fleeing to neighbouring countries. The BBC has also found evidence of the poor level of training such conscripts or recruits receives before being sent to the front.

    Meanwhile, the BBC Russian service says it has identified more than 7,500 Russian service personnel who have died in the Ukraine war. The actual level of casualties is believed to be much higher, and there are reports that some recently mobilised troops have been killed.

    Addressing relations with other former Soviet countries, Mr Putin insisted that the war had not affected their “character and depth”.

    He said it was natural for some countries to be concerned but he was keeping them informed in detail.

    But analysts say Russia’s influence in the region is declining, with leaders like Kazakhstan’s Kassym-Jomart Tokayev trying to distance themselves from Mr Putin over the war.

     

  • Ukraine: Putin says Germany committed a “mistake” by siding with NATO

    The Russian leader also chided Germany for canceling the Nord Stream 2 gas project following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, about which he said he had “no” regrets.

    Putin’s comments on Friday focused on Germany were thinly veiled admonishments of disapproval

    Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a press conference in the Kazakh capital of Astana Friday that Germany had made a “mistake” in siding with NATO in the war in Ukraine.

    He claimed that the decision to cancel the Nord Stream 2 pipeline was a German one and that it was an error to prioritize NATO and European security over what Moscow believes to be Germany’s national interest.

    “German citizens, businesses, and its economy are paying for this mistake because it has negative economic consequences for the eurozone as a whole, and in Germany,” he said, in reference to Nord Stream 2.

    By contrast, Putin believes Russia “is doing everything right” in its stalled effort to conquer Ukraine, which has led Russia to be accused of frequent rights abuses, war crimes and violations of international law.

    What else did Putin say about NATO?

    Any direct confrontation between NATO forces and Russian troops would be a “global catastrophe,” he said.

    Putin relayed that he had no regrets about his decision to invade Ukraine despite the hugely unpopular mobilization and Russia’s minimal battlefield gains in the months since the war began.

    He added he would want the humanitarian corridors for Ukrainian grain closed should it emerge they are being used for what he termed “acts of terror.” Turkey, a NATO member state, and the UN brokered a deal to bring Ukrainian grain to world markets in July.

    Earlier this month, the Kerch Bridge connecting Russia to Crimea, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014, was targeted by a truck bomb Russia has since blamed on Ukraine.

    While Kyiv residents and government officials celebrated the act of sabotage and the Ukrainian postal service ordered up commemorative stamps, Ukraine did not formally claim its forces were behind the attack. Russia has blamed Ukraine’s military intelligence.

    What else did Putin say about Ukraine?

    At the news conference following the summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Putin claimed that the partial mobilization he ordered would be over in two weeks.

    He added that there are no future plans at present for further call-ups. Sixteen thousand reservists are currently engaged in military activities, he noted.

    “Nothing additional is planned. No proposals have been received from the defense ministry and I don’t see any additional need in the foreseeable future,” he said.

    Though Putin once said the invasion and capture of Ukraine would be over swiftly, he ordered 300,000 reservists be called up to fight in Ukraine last month. Nearly as many men of military age left the country than to avoid mobilizing.

    Mobilized Russian soldiers lack equipment, food

    And he said there was no need for massive strikes on Ukraine “for now,” following a week of missile barrages on Ukrainian towns and cities.

    “Our aim is not to destroy Ukraine,” Putin said.

    What does Putin say about other countries’ perceptions of Russia’s war on Ukraine?

    Putin noted that China and India favor a “peaceful dialogue” over Ukraine after their leaders clashed with him at a different summit in Uzbekistan last month.

    While some countries once occupied by the Soviet Union are “worried,” Putin said he believes there has been no change in “the character and depth of the Russian Federation’s relations with these countries.”

    The Collective Security Treaty Organization consists of Russia and five other countries that were once considered part of the Soviet Union: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.

    As with the Warsaw Pact that once existed in satellite countries under Russian tutelage during the Cold War, members of the organization have only seen Russian forces be used to suppress civil disturbances in their countries.

    The Russian leader also said he finds “no need” for future talks with US President Joe Biden, who earlier in the week dismissed the idea of dialogue with Putin.

    Putin said he has not made a decision yet on whether to attend the G20 summit in Bali next month, which would be his first encounter with leaders who stand vehemently opposed to his war against Ukraine.

     

  • Russia-Ukraine war: Turkish president promises to advocate for peace as Astana summit gets under way

    Erdogan has stated that despite the challenges on the ground, Turkey will continue to advocate for peace between Russia and Ukraine.

    “Our goal is to continue the momentum that has been achieved and bring an end to the bloodshed as soon as possible,” the Turkish leader said in his address to the summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia. The summit is being held in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana.

    Erdogan was referring to agreements that Turkey helped broker which allowed Ukrainians to resume grain exports and led to a prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia.

    “We are all closely experiencing the effects of the crisis in Ukraine on a regional and global scale,” he said. “I always say that a just peace can be established with diplomacy, that there are no winners in war and no losers in equitable peace.”

    Turkey has retained close ties with both Moscow and Kyiv during the war and has repeatedly offered to organise peace talks between the two sides.

     

  • Kremlin: Turkey will offer ‘mediation’ during talks on Thursday

    Moscow expects Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will “officially” offer to mediate negotiations with Ukraine, a Kremlin aide said.

    “The Turks are offering their mediation. If any talks take place, then most likely they will be on their territory: in Istanbul or Ankara,” Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters in Moscow.

    “Erdogan will probably propose something officially” during Thursday’s talks with President Vladimir Putin in the Kazakh capital, Astana.

    Turkey has good relations with Russia and Ukraine and has refrained from joining Western sanctions on Moscow.

    “Turkey on principle does not join the illegal sanctions of the West. And this position of Turkey gives an additional impetus for the expansion of trade and economic cooperation,” Ushakov said.