Vladimir Putin has admitted that his invasion of Ukraine is taking longer than expected as the war continues in the east and south of the country.
Vladimir Putin has admitted that his invasion of Ukraine is taking longer than expected as the war continues in the east and south of the country.
In a televised meeting in Russia, the president vowed to continue the war, saying: “Of course, it could be a long process.”
The nine-month unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has killed and injured tens of thousands and displaced millions from their homes. Putin said that Russia “will constantly fight for our interests.”
Kiev’s mayor warned Wednesday of a “doomsday” scenario for the Ukrainian capital this winter if Russia continues its barrage of airstrikes against infrastructure.
Russian missiles at energy infrastructure targets have repeatedly plunged swaths of Ukraine into darkness.
kyiv Mayor Vitali Kitschko said: “kyiv could lose power, water and heat supplies. The apocalypse could happen, like in Hollywood movies, when it is not possible to live at home.
“But we are fighting and doing everything we can to make sure this doesn’t happen,” Kitschko added.
Russia failed to seize kyiv in the first days of the war due to fierce Ukrainian resistance.
Putin did not refer to Russia’s defeats on the battlefield or its attempts to cement control over seized regions, but acknowledged problems with supplies, treatment of wounded soldiers and desertions.
Russian authorities tried to strengthen their border defensive positions on Wednesday, after a drone strike on a Russian airfield in the Kursk region, on the border with Ukraine.
On Monday, two strategic Russian airbases more than 300 miles from the Ukrainian border came under drone strike. Moscow blamed Ukraine, but its officials have not formally claimed responsibility.
Russia responded with artillery, rocket launcher, missile, tank, and mortar strikes against residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, exacerbating damage to the power grid.
Ukraine’s private power company Ukrenergo said temperatures in the eastern areas where it was making repairs had dropped as low as minus 17 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s presidential office said Russian forces overnight attacked nine regions in the east and south, resuming the use of Iranian-made Shahed drones after supply difficulties.
In the city of Kherson, a 43-year-old waterworks worker was killed when Russian shelling sparked a fire and damaged residential buildings, the presidential office said.