Ukraine war is going to 'take a while,' Putin says as he warns nuclear risk is increasing - CNN

CNN  — 

Nearly 10 months aft his invasion of Ukraine began, Russian President Vladimir Putin connected Wednesday acknowledged that the struggle is “going to instrumentality a while,” arsenic helium besides warned of the “increasing” menace of atomic war.

Speaking astatine a gathering of Russia’s Human Rights Council astatine the Kremlin, Putin said Moscow volition fight by “all disposable means astatine our disposal,” successful what helium insists connected calling a “special subject operation,” but besides said helium saw nary contiguous request to mobilize much troops.

“With respect to the protracted quality of the peculiar subject cognition and its results, of course, it’s going to instrumentality a while, perhaps,” helium said.

And without categorically ruling retired the archetypal usage of atomic weapons, Putin said helium viewed the Russian atomic arsenal arsenic a deterrent alternatively than a provocation.

“As for the thought that Russia wouldn’t usage specified weapons archetypal nether immoderate circumstances, past it means we wouldn’t beryllium capable to beryllium the 2nd to usage them either – due to the fact that the anticipation to bash truthful successful lawsuit of an onslaught connected our territory would beryllium precise limited,” helium said.

“Nevertheless, we person a strategy… namely, arsenic a defense, we see weapons of wide destruction, atomic weapons – it is each based astir the alleged retaliatory strike,” helium said. “That is, erstwhile we are struck, we onslaught successful response.”

The Russian person said that the United States’ atomic weapons were located successful ample numbers connected European soil, portion Russia had not transferred its atomic weapons to different territories and is not readying to bash so, but “will support its allies with each the means astatine its disposal, if necessary.”

“We person not gone crazy. We are alert of what atomic weapons are. We person these means, they are successful a much precocious and modern signifier than those of immoderate different atomic country, this is obvious,” helium said. “But we are not going to brandish these weapons similar a razor, moving astir the world.”

Putin besides said determination is nary request for further mobilization of Russian troops astatine this point, saying suggestions for much deployments “simply bash not marque sense.”

Out of the 300,000 men called up for Russia’s partial mobilization, fractional are presently successful Ukraine – and of those, lone 77,000 are successful combat units portion the remainder are successful defence forces oregon training, helium said.

Meanwhile, successful effect to a question, helium described Moscow’s territorial gains arsenic a “significant effect for Russia.”

In September, Putin announced the annexation of 4 Ukrainian regions – Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – successful a process that violated planetary law.

However, Russia presently controls lone 60% of the confederate Kherson region. It was forced to retreat from the determination superior of Kherson metropolis past period successful a humiliating setback, though it inactive controls the coastline on the Sea of Azov.

“Let’s beryllium honest, the Sea of Azov has go an interior oversea of the Russian Federation. All of this is simply a large deal,” Putin said.

In Zaporizhzhia, meanwhile, the United Nations’ atomic watchdog has repeatedly warned of the hazard of a atomic mishap astatine Ukraine’s largest atomic plant, which has been occupied by Russian forces since March.

The Zaporizhzhia atomic powerfulness works been rocked by explosions successful caller months amid warring nearby, with Kyiv and Moscow blaming each different for the attacks.

Earlier this week, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson appeared to regularisation retired proposals by the International Atomic Energy Agency to make a demilitarized portion astir the plant, claiming it was connected “Russian territory and is afloat controlled by Russia.”

Putin’s comments travel arsenic the warfare enters winter, with Russia continuing to ammunition eastbound and confederate parts of Ukraine – and facing attacks connected its ain soil.

Earlier this week, Russia unleashed a question of drone and rocket attacks crossed Ukraine, targeting the country’s vigor infrastructure. Ukraine has been facing a wide battle connected captious infrastructure and powerfulness sources since aboriginal October.

The caller strikes caused extended powerfulness outages successful respective regions, including Kyiv and Odesa, leaving galore households without electricity. Ukrainian repair teams person worked frantically to reconstruct powerfulness crossed the country, but their efforts are being slowed by sub-zero temperatures and mediocre weather.

Meanwhile, Russia has accused Kyiv of utilizing drones to onslaught subject airfields acold wrong its territory connected Monday and Tuesday – an bonzer breach of Moscow’s assumptions that it tin support its heavy interior.

Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied work for the blasts, successful keeping with Kyiv’s argumentation of authoritative soundlessness astir attacks wrong Russia oregon successful Russian-occupied Crimea.

However, successful an evident notation to the strikes, an adjutant to President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted cryptically that “if thing is launched into different countries’ airspace, sooner oregon aboriginal chartless flying objects volition instrumentality to departure point.”