Putin: 60,000 soldiers voluntarily come to our army every month
Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed on Tuesday that Russia is recruiting about 60,000 soldiers per month.
During a speech at a meeting with business representatives and government officials, Putin said that “60,000 people voluntarily join the armed forces every month, while Ukraine struggles to mobilize 30,000”.
The Russian president said, “While the authorities in Kyiv are forcibly mobilizing and hunting people down in the streets like stray dogs, here our men are leaving voluntarily, coming of their own accord”.
Putin addressed the issue of potential Western sanctions against Russia, stressing that he isn’t concerned about them, “These potential new sanctions won’t scare us. Fear is not an option… Anyone who starts to panic will immediately lose everything”.
The Kremlin leader indicated that he had instructed the government to find ways to prevent Western companies from operating in Russia if they fail to make profits there.
“If it’s not profitable, we have to find a thousand reasons why this or that company shouldn’t be here,” he said.
Putin’s remarks come on the eve of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Türkiye, amid European Union warnings of tougher sanctions against Moscow if progress isnطt made to end the war.
In another context, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced that the European Union is prepared to impose tougher sanctions on Russia if progress is not made toward ending the war in Ukraine within this week.
Merz said, “We’re awaiting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s approval, and we agreed that if there is no real progress this week, we will work together at the European level to significantly tighten sanctions”.
He explained that the EU will focus on new sectors such as energy and financial markets.
He added that EU leaders agreed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he could participate in talks with Russia in Istanbul this week, provided that Russia halts its bombing and attacks on civilians in Ukraine.
On the ground, Russia announced it had taken control of the town of Kotlyarovka in Donetsk, raising concerns about a further Russian advance toward other Ukrainian positions.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry stated that it had launched an Iskander-M missile to destroy a Ukrainian HIMARS system that had shelled the Kursk region, according to the Russian Defense Ministry’s announcement.
