Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that the war in Ukraine is proceeding "within the plan," despite many setbacks.
Russia's current conflict in Ukraine began when its forces first entered the Eastern European country almost a year ago in late February. Since then, Russia has faced significant resistance from Ukrainian defenders and failed to meet its initial goals, including taking control of the capital city of Kyiv. Even its scaled-back goals of annexing breakaway regions in Eastern Ukraine have been fraught with trouble. As of January, Russian forces have reportedly lost around 110,000 soldiers in the conflict, though Newsweek cannot independently verify the precise number.
Despite these issues, Putin has consistently pressed forward for the invasion and framed it as a fight for Russia's sovereignty. On Sunday, the Russian leader said during an interview with Pavel Zarubin for the state-run Rossiya-1 news channel that the "special military operation" in Ukraine was going according to the Kremlin's plan, TASS reported.
"The dynamics are positive," Putin said. "Everything is developing within the plan of the Defense Ministry and the General Staff. And I hope that our fighters will please us more than once again with the results of their combat work."
Contrary to Putin's show of confidence on Sunday, recent analysis of the war effort claimed that Putin and the Russian government overall are aware of their increasingly dire standing in Ukraine. In a Wednesday intelligence briefing, the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense said that the appointment of Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov as the new head of the country's military was "a significant development in Russian President Vladimir Putin's approach to managing the war."
"The deployment of the [Chief of the General Staff] as theatre commander is an indicator of the increasing seriousness of the situation Russia is facing, and a clear acknowledgment that the campaign is falling short of Russia's strategic goals," the report stated.
On Tuesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu admitted during a meeting with top generals that the military was falling short in several areas, and stressed the need for improvements in the country's air force, including its overall striking capabilities, as well as its communication and training systems. He also said that the air force should also make greater use of unmanned aerial vehicles, also known as drones.
"Our immediate plans are to expand the arsenals of modern strike weapons," Shoigu said. "We need to improve the management and communication system."
Newsweek reached out to foreign policy experts for comment.
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Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more
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