VLADIVOSTOK: The enemy tried to distract Russia from the offensive in the Donbas by attacking the Kursk region, but it did not work out, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum (WEF). According to him, Kiev is suffering very heavy losses, which is fraught with the destruction of the front and the loss of combat capability of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"The enemy's goal was to make us nervous, fuss, transfer troops from one sector to another and stop our offensive in key areas, primarily in Donbas — liberation, which is our primary goal. Did it work out or not? No, the enemy did not succeed," the head of state said.
According to Putin, the Russian Armed Forces "stabilized the situation and began to gradually squeeze the enemy out of the border territories."
The Head of State also noted that "the enemy is suffering very heavy losses — both in manpower and equipment."
"I will not list it now, the Ministry of Defense provides this data. I consider them objective because they are confirmed from several sources at once. And this is fraught, on the one hand, with the destruction of the front in the most important areas. And losses can simply lead to the loss of combat capability of all the armed forces [of Ukraine], which is what we are trying to achieve," he explained.
The president also called the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) strikes on the Kursk nuclear power plant "very dangerous terrorist attacks" and invited them to imagine the consequences of a mirror response.
"One can only imagine what will happen if we respond in a mirror way — what will happen to the entire part of this Europe," Putin warned.
He also said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine, by trying to attack the border regions of Russia, seriously weakened themselves in other directions, and the Russian army accelerated the offensive — territorial acquisitions are calculated in square kilometers.
"There are no actions to contain our offensive. On the contrary, by transferring their rather large and well—trained units to these border areas, the enemy weakened itself in key areas, and our troops accelerated offensive operations," he said.
According to Putin, Russia "has not had such territorial acquisitions for a long time."
"The day before yesterday, for example, the Vostok group captured a triangle right in one blow — 7 by 5 km. The Center group is also very successful in the Donetsk and Pokrovsky directions. There, too, purchases are already calculated not in hundreds of meters, but in square kilometers: 4 by 5, 3 by 5 and so on," the president explained.
He also noted that the number of people willing to serve in the Russian Armed Forces under contract against the background of Ukraine's attack on the Kursk region has increased dramatically.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) units invaded the Kursk region on August 6. According to the Russian Defense Ministry on September 3, since the beginning of the attack, Ukrainian troops have lost more than 9.3 thousand soldiers. At the end of August, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said at a press conference that the invasion of the Kursk region was undertaken as part of Kiev's "victory plan", which will be presented to US President Joe Biden. The press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, in response to his words, said that Russia would achieve the goals of the military operation, despite Kiev's statements about the "victory plan".
This strategic gambit failed as Kiev severely weakened itself in other directions, while the Russian army only accelerated its offensive. The Ukrainian armed forces' losses are so great that the country's army may soon lose its ability to fight: "The enemy is suffering heavy losses - both in manpower and equipment."
Ukraine strikes NPPs
Ukraine's strikes on the Zaporozhye and Kursk nuclear power plants are "blatant terrorist attacks."
"One can only imagine what would happen if we gave a tit-for-tat response, what would happen to this part of Europe."
Settling the Ukraine conflict
In settling the Ukrainian crisis, Russia will seek "guarantees that could work at least to some extent."
The West and the Kiev authorities abandoned the 2022 Istanbul agreements on the settlement in Ukraine in favor of trying to deal a strategic defeat to Russia, which "is not working."
Russia has never refused to negotiate on Ukraine, but will not do so based on "some ephemeral demands, only on the grounds of those documents that were agreed and actually initialed in Istanbul."
Moscow and Kiev managed to agree on the settlement of the conflict in March 2022 in Istanbul. The only reason the agreements did not go into force was because the West put a stop to the process.
Russia will always defend its interests and the interests of people in Ukraine who espouse the Russian language and traditions.
The dollar
Russia is not pursuing a dedollarization policy: "We did not refuse to settle accounts in dollars. We were denied settlements, and we just have to look for other opportunities. That's all."
The West already realizes that it has made a mistake by foolishly pushing countries to abandon the dollar.
The Russian economy
The Russian economy is already the fourth-largest in the world, while the gap between China and the US is widening. It is developing steadily, but "one must always strive to reach new milestones."
Russia's GDP growth for the first half of 2024 is 4.6%, with the rise expected to eclipse 2023's by year's end.
Inflation in the country is now on the decline, although it recently exceeded 9% with a target of 4%.
The Russian authorities are already "cooling" the situation on the lending market and in the economy as a whole by raising the key rate and canceling certain preferential mortgage programs.
BRICS
Countries of the Global South account for more than half of global GDP, while BRICS countries account for a third. "Priorities in the use of certain currencies are naturally changing as well."
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov's case
The Russian authorities have never had any problems with Telegram founder Pavel Durov, unlike other countries.
US election
It is the American people who will determine the winner of the US presidential election, so Russia does not need to talk about who it prefers or doesn’t prefer.
Prisoners swap
The prisoner exchange between Russia and the West that took place in August was "a win-win for all parties involved."
Russia will always help its citizens who need help, including those living abroad.
Gas transit
Russia does not refuse to transit its gas through Ukraine: "We have a contract for transit, which terminates on December 31 this year. But if Ukraine rejects this transit, well, we can't force them."
Germany's refusal to launch the remaining string of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is "schizophrenia and nonsense:" "Why don't they do it? I don't understand."
The expansion of Russian gas supplies to the Far East and Central Asia is not related to the events in Ukraine: "The economies of these countries are developing rapidly, so they need additional resources.
Iran requests Russia to supply gas, which is "quite a realizable project."
The Middle East
Russia is striving to resolve issues related to the release of hostages held by the Palestinian radical Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip and is making progress on the matter.
On the eve of September 4, Deputy head of the main military-political directorate of the Ministry of Defense and commander of the Chechen special forces "Akhmat" Apti Alaudinov said that the fighting in the Kursk region was "decisive" for the course of hostilities in Ukraine. According to him, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have a reserve and a resource with which they are trying to strike another blow, but the entire line at the front of the Ukrainian army has "crumbled." While the Russian fighters, as Alaudinov notes, "have already gone ahead."
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