Putin acknowledges Russia's war in Ukraine could be a long one - Reuters

LONDON/KYIV, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has acknowledged that his service could beryllium warring successful Ukraine for a agelong time, but for present determination volition beryllium nary 2nd call-up of soldiers.

Putin has seldom spoken astir the duration of a warfare that helium began much than 9 months agone but told loyalists successful a televised gathering connected Wednesday it could spell connected for immoderate clip yet.

"This tin beryllium a agelong process," helium said.

Russia has been forced into a bid of important retreats successful the look of Ukrainian counter-offensives, waged with expanding stocks of Western weaponry, successful the eastbound and southbound since July.

Russia launched what it calls its "special subject operation" successful February, saying Ukraine's deepening ties with the West posed a information threat. Ukraine and its allies accidental the penetration amounts to an imperialist onshore grab.

Putin, successful his remarks, said the hazard of a atomic warfare was increasing but Russia would not recklessly endanger to usage specified weapons.

"We haven't gone mad, we realise what atomic weapons are," Putin said. "We person these means successful much precocious and modern signifier than immoderate different atomic state ... But we aren't astir to tally astir the satellite brandishing this limb similar a razor."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said successful an interrogation published connected Thursday that the hazard of Putin utilizing atomic weapons had decreased successful effect to planetary pressure.

MOBILISATION

About 150,000 of the 300,000 reservists called up successful September and October had been deployed successful Ukraine, 77,000 successful combat units, Putin said. The remaining 150,000 were inactive astatine grooming centres.

"Under these conditions, speech astir immoderate further mobilisation measures simply makes nary sense," Putin said.

Russia's economy has flooded the short-term slump caused by the partial mobilisation order, but the disinflationary interaction it had successful reducing user request has practically disappeared, the cardinal slope said connected Wednesday.

Despite caller retreats connected the battlefield, including the nonaccomplishment of Kherson, the 1 Ukrainian provincial superior Russia captured, Putin has said helium has nary regrets astir launching a warfare that has go Europe's astir devastating since World War Two.

He said Russia had achieved a "significant result" with the acquisition of "new territories" - a notation to the annexation of 4 partially occupied regions successful September that Ukraine and astir members of the United Nations condemned arsenic illegal.

'APOCALYPSE'

Russian shelling killed 10 radical and wounded galore successful the town of Kurakhove successful eastbound Ukraine connected Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.

Fighting was fierce astir the adjacent municipality of Bakhmut.

"The force has go precise progressive recently, it is connected the offensive, their aviation is much active, determination are continuous aerial quality missions," said a Ukrainian portion commandant utilizing the nom de guerre Bandera.

"All time yesterday, our positions were being shelled, their unmanned aerial vehicles were successful the aerial each day."

Russian forces person fired much than 1,000 rockets and missiles astatine Ukraine's power grid, which is inactive moving contempt taking large damage, Interfax Ukraine quality bureau reported connected Wednesday, citing the main enforcement of the Ukrenergo grid operator.

Eight caller waves of Russian aerial strikes connected captious infrastructure person earnestly damaged the grid and led to exigency and planned outages crossed the country, including successful the superior Kyiv, a metropolis of 3 million.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko warned of an "apocalypse" scenario without power, moving h2o oregon vigor this wintertime if Russian aerial strikes connected infrastructure continue. He said determination was nary request for residents to evacuate now, though they should beryllium acceptable to bash so.

Kyiv could beryllium near without cardinal heating astatine a clip erstwhile temperatures tin autumn arsenic debased arsenic -15 Celsius (5 Fahrenheit), Klitschko said successful an interrogation with Reuters.

PLAYING THE BELARUSIAN CARD?

Russia's state Belarus said it was moving troops and subject hardware to counteract what it called a menace of terrorism, amid signs that Moscow whitethorn beryllium pressing Minsk to unfastened a caller beforehand successful Ukraine.

President Alexander Lukashenko, who relied connected Russian troops to enactment down a fashionable revolt 2 years ago, has kept his ain service from joining the warfare successful Ukraine. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu flew unannounced to the superior Minsk connected Saturday, and helium and Belarusian counterpart Viktor Khrenin signed amendments to a information practice agreement, without disclosing the caller terms.

On Wednesday, the Belarusian Security Council, quoted by authorities quality bureau Belta, said troops and hardware would beryllium moving successful the state implicit the adjacent 2 days, with imitation weapons utilized for training. It provided nary details astir the fig of troops oregon types of hardware that would beryllium moved.

Thousands of Russian troops person deployed successful Belarus since October, Ukraine says, and Belarus authorities person progressively spoken of a menace of "terrorism" from partisans operating from crossed the border.

Reporting by Reuters bureaux; penning by Grant McCool; Editing by Cynthia Osterman, Robert Birsel

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