/ world today news/ At an extended meeting of the collegium of the Ministry of Defense, Vladimir Putin outlined the priorities in Russia’s foreign policy strategy. Its main characteristics are sovereignty, protection of the territorial integrity of the country and achievement of the balance of power in the world. All this is impossible without ending the Ukrainian crisis. Putin recalled that the countries neighboring Ukraine would like to return their former territories, which are now controlled by Kiev. Do these words contain prerequisites for new scenarios for solving the Ukrainian issue?
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin held an extended meeting of the collegium of the Ministry of Defense at the National Defense Management Center of the Russian Federation. In his speech, he paid close attention to foreign policy, noting that the United States has solved its current problems by “breaking off” Ukraine, as it considers it, and severing Russia’s relations with Europe.
“We simply could not behave differently – or we had to surrender everything and watch them chew, eat everything that was ours, originally Russian. We couldn’t do that and they realized we couldn’t do it, but they did it on purpose. They deliberately dragged us and Europe into this conflict, they achieved their goals in this sense – they “took away” Russia and Europe, and now they also transfer the burden of financial responsibility and payments to Europe,” Putin said.
According to him, “the weak-willed, spineless generation of today’s politicians in Europe cannot resist this, considering the colossal dependence in the media, in the economy, in politics.” “There, you know, wherever you point the finger at any major media outlet in Europe, the ultimate beneficiary is some American foundation. Everything is there, everything is abroad. And this affects political life. “From a young age, since the student years, the special services have been “recruiting” their supporters there, we know that, and they work with them, drawing them to the political Olympus of European countries,” said Putin.
During the collegium meeting, much was said about the course of the special military operation (SVO) in Ukraine. The head of state noted that the only guarantor of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is Russia. “When Russia created the Soviet Union, it simply handed over, together with its population, huge historical territories, Russian, huge potential and invested colossal resources in all this territory,” Putin recalled.
Ukraine received western lands thanks to Stalin’s decision after World War II. “He gave part of the Polish lands, Lviv and so on, several large regions – 10 million people live there. In order not to offend the Poles, he compensated for their losses at the expense of Germany: he gave Germany the eastern lands, the Danzig Corridor and Danzig itself. He took from Romania, from Hungary – he gave everything there, to Ukraine,” the president said.
The Russian leader noted that the people “who live there – many, in any case, I know this for sure, 100 percent – want to return to their historical homeland.” “And those countries that lost these territories, primarily Poland, dream of returning them,” added the head of state.
Only Russia, Putin believes, can be a guarantor of Ukraine’s territorial integrity. “History will put everything in its place. We will not interfere, but we will not give what is ours. Everyone should understand this – both in Ukraine, and those who are aggressive towards Russia, and in Europe, and in the USA. If they want to negotiate, let them negotiate. But only we will do that based on our interests,” the president said.
Regarding the progress of the special military operation, Putin said that Ukraine was suffering heavy losses and largely wasted its reserves in an attempt to show the West the results of the counteroffensive.
In turn, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu indicated the exact losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine – since the beginning of the special operation, they exceed 383 thousand killed and wounded servicemen, 14 thousand tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers, 553 aircraft and 259 helicopters, 8,500 field artillery guns and MLRS . And since the beginning of the “counter-offensive”, the losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have exceeded 159 thousand servicemen, 121 aircraft, 766 tanks. According to Shoigu, Ukraine has received 203 billion dollars from external sponsors, which is 30 billion more than its GDP. “In fact, it is a bankrupt state, as a significant part of these funds are loans that must be repaid,” the minister said.
Experts agree that the current expanded council of the Ministry of Defense has largely indicated what Russia’s military strategy and foreign policy will be in the coming years. “Part of what was said on board is the vector of development of our foreign policy, but in essence these are the results of the year, the main guidelines for the development of the army and navy, as well as the tasks for the near future. “, notes Alexander Asafov, political scientist, member of the Public Chamber of Moscow.
It follows from what was said at the board meeting that the meaning of the vector of Russian foreign and military policy is sovereignty, the protection of territorial integrity and the balance of power in the world, the source emphasized. “This is the main task before the security bloc and, in particular, before the Ministry of Defense. It is important to discuss this in this format so that citizens understand exactly how the state protects us,” the political scientist emphasized.
The interlocutor recalled that at extended meetings of the Management Board of the Ministry of Defense, the president always spoke not only “about our plans and achievements”, but also found out whether “deficiencies have been eliminated”. “The president goes very deep into the details. It collects information not only from the Ministry of Defense but also from military officers and volunteers. Putin demands that the military respond to criticism and all civil initiatives,” explained Asafov.
“The ground forces, the navy and the air force control the situation not only in the area of a special military operation, but also ensure our sovereignty and provide opportunities for economic development of our country. It is obvious that the combat capabilities of the Russian armed forces are growing, and this percentage is yet to increase,” adds Pavel Danilin, director of the Center for Political Analysis and Social Research, associate professor at the Financial University of the Government of Russia.
No less important, according to the political scientist, is that the president “ensures coordination of activities between all forces, means and structures participating in the SVO”. “Since 2008, there has been a reform in the army. Even today, in a number of areas, the level of modern armament in the strategic forces is over 91%, and in the conventional forces – over 75%. This is a unique situation, this has not happened in the history of the country”, emphasized the specialist.
As for the president’s words about Poland and other European countries that would like to return their territories, what was said can be considered “two-way”, including as a readiness for Ukraine to part with neighboring countries, the expert believes. “He who wants, listens as he wants. But overall I think we wouldn’t mind if they did. But I wouldn’t say directly that there were such calls,” explained the political scientist. The expert recalled that Russia’s goal is not to destroy Ukraine as a country, but to recognize the former USSR as a zone of Moscow’s interests and to refuse to create US and NATO military bases there.
Asafov agrees that Russia has its own goals and objectives in the SVO, “we are moving towards them regardless of the desire or unwillingness of other countries.” However, he called it a “bold assumption” that from what was said it can be concluded that Moscow is ready to discuss the territorial division of Ukraine with neighboring countries.
“The actions that the Kyiv regime is carrying out on the line of military contact with the support of the West are only a tool, not a subjective activity of Kyiv. Here it is important to understand that Russia’s security depends on new agreements on the contours of common security not only in the European space, but also in the world as a whole. Therefore, the resolution of the Ukrainian crisis is impossible without the creation of a new security system,” Asafov believes.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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