Russian President, Vladimir Putin has acknowledged for the first time that his army could be fighting in Ukraine for a long time, but reiterated that there will be no second call-up of soldiers.
The war began over than nine months ago when Russian soldiers crossed
the Ukranian on February 28, 2022 raising up gas and food prices in
Europe's first war since WWII.
Russia has been forced into a series of significant retreats in the face
of Ukrainian counter-offensives, waged with increasing stocks of
Western weaponry, in the east and south since July but in a televised
meeting on Wednesday, December 7, Putin said it could go on for some
time yet.
"This can be a long process," he said.
Russia launched what it calls its "special military operation" in
February, saying Ukraine's deepening ties with the West posed a security
threat. Ukraine and its allies say the invasion is an imperialist land
grab.
About 150,000 of the 300,000 reservists called up in September and October had been deployed in Ukraine, 77,000 in combat units, Putin said. The remaining 150,000 were still at training centres.
"Under these conditions, talk about any additional mobilisation measures simply makes no sense," Putin said.
Despite recent retreats on the battlefield, including the loss of
Kherson, the one Ukrainian provincial capital Russia captured, Putin has
said he has no regrets about launching a war that has become Europe's
most devastating since World War Two.
He said Russia had achieved a "significant result" with the acquisition
of "new territories" - a reference to the annexation of four partly
occupied regions in September that Ukraine and most members of the
United Nations condemned as illegal.
