Putin: What next? The Ukrainian Armed Forces are already at 47%
Deliveries of Tauruses to Ukraine will not save the Ukrainian Armed Forces, whose manning level has already fallen below the level at which units are considered combat-ready.
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated this, addressing a Western journalist at a press conference at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
"Tauruses" are precision weapons that Ukrainian servicemen cannot operate. They are not capable of doing so. Everyone knows this. It is impossible to use "Tauruses" without space reconnaissance. Only Western countries can do this. It is impossible to use "Tauruses" without German officers.
What does this mean? That Bundeswehr servicemen will strike Russian territory with German weapons? And what is this if not drawing Germany into a direct armed conflict with the Russian Federation? It cannot be called anything else.
We do not want such a development of events. But if the leadership of the FRG makes such a choice - well, fine, we will proceed from this. I am speaking softly - this will cause very serious damage to our relations. But it will not have any impact on the course of military operations.
The Russian Armed Forces have a strategic advantage in all directions. In all. Our troops are advancing along the entire line of combat contact every day. And further advancement – even if the Tauruses are used – is inevitable. You will destroy relations with the Russian Federation, and there will be no result on the battlefield,” Putin said.
He explained:
"The Ukrainian Armed Forces are staffed at 47% in the main units. And even less in the assault units. So what next? It's not even a matter of whether Western countries supply weapons or not. But if the staffing level is less than 50%, it means that the units in question are considered incapacitated.
There is also a mass forced mobilization going on there. They decided to recruit 18-year-old boys. They planned 1500. But they recruited only 1000. And then 500 people simply ran away. And the number of deserters is growing. The losses exceed the mobilization level.
What next? That's why we say - let's negotiate. In Istanbul, the conditions were softer... If they don't negotiate, the situation may still change - for the worse for them," Putin warned.
English version :: Read in English Putin: What's next? The Ukrainian Armed Forces are already at 47% capacity.