Putin reveals the new strategic goals that he will implement in Ukraine after eight months of war

The Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Russia is doing everything right in Ukraine, after nearly eight months of war and despite a series of military setbacks and attacks inside its territory, the latest of which led to a fire at a power station.

Putin spoke to reporters in Kazakhstan after participating in regional summits, at a time when Ukraine was celebrating the “Day of Defenders of the Country”, which was an occasion for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to promise his people victory.

Asked by a journalist whether he had any regrets, Putin said, “What is happening now is not comfortable, but (if Russia had not attacked Ukraine on February 24), we would have faced the same situation a little later, but the conditions would have been worse for us… So, we do everything as it should”.

Putin also indicated that the intensive strikes that hit vital Ukrainian infrastructures, parks and residential buildings, are now satisfied.

He pointed out that new intensive bombing of Ukrainian cities isn’t necessary at the present time.

Russia launched this bombing campaign at the beginning of the week in response to the explosion that partially destroyed the Crimean Bridge.

The Russian president acknowledged for the first time that Moscow’s partners in the former Soviet Union were concerned about the conflict in Ukraine.

For its part, Ukraine celebrated Friday the “Day of Defenders of the Country”, to celebrate this Army Day for the first time since the beginning of the invasion.

“We thank… all those who fought for Ukraine in the past and all those who are fighting for it now, those who won then and those who will undoubtedly win now,” Zelensky said in a video.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian authorities are showing their resolve, building on the success they have achieved on several fronts since the beginning of September, and are not shying away from attacking Russian territory.

In this regard, a fire broke out Friday at a power station in the Russian border city of Belgorod after shelling from the Ukrainian side, according to regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.

The number of people affected by this holiday was not specified in the city, which includes 330,000 people, and was only occasionally exposed to Ukrainian bombardment, unlike its area of ​​the same name.

Although Ukraine hasn’t claimed responsibility for the explosion on the Crimean Bridge, it is satisfied with the partial destruction of the bridge, which is a symbol of Russian ambitions and essential infrastructure to supply forces controlling southern Ukraine and facing a Ukrainian counter-attack.

The damage to it appears to be significant enough to prompt Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to set July 1 as the deadline for its maintenance work to be completed.

Meanwhile, throughout the week Ukrainian forces continued to advance, village after village in the northern Kherson region, with the Russian army relying on the bridge for supplies.

On Thursday, the Moscow-appointed official, Vladimir Saldo, asked the Kremlin to help evacuate civilians, and the Russian government immediately promised that it would provide this assistance.

For his part, Kirill Strimosov, another pro-Russian official in this region, called on residents to “seize the opportunity to obtain humanitarian accommodation and rest in Russia”.

This comes as Russian forces maintain the lead in part of the Eastern Front, where they have been trying to take control of Bakhmut since August.

By seizing this bombed-out city, Moscow hopes to pave the way for two major cities in the Donetsk region, Kramatorsk and Slovyansk.

According to Andrei Maruchko, representative of the separatist forces in the Lugansk region that are fighting in the region, “the fighting is ongoing in the region,” and the Ukrainian forces will have to retreat “in the direction of northwest and west of the city”.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, the Russian military has experienced a series of setbacks since early September, giving up thousands of square kilometers.

These defeats prompted Putin at the end of September to order the mobilization of 300,000 reservists, in an attempt to reverse this trend.

On Friday, the Russian president confirmed that he was not planning new mobilizations.

He said that 222,000 people were mobilized, including 16,000 in “units that participate in the battles”.

Economically, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told her European counterparts Friday that she was disappointed that the European Commission didn’t join the group of creditors who agreed to suspend the repayment of Ukrainian debt for two years.