Despite clear setbacks for his troops on the front lines in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to believe that his invading army can defeat Ukraine, according to an interview with Russian state television broadcast on Sunday.
The Russian army would continue to do everything to implement the goals of the special operation, as Russia's war against Ukraine is officially called in Moscow, Putin stressed in an interview with Pavel Zarubin, a correspondent for the station.
Putin justified his optimism in part by what he called a "catastrophic lack of personnel" in Ukraine's armed forces.
He claimed that a proposal had been put to the Russian Armed Forces to limit the fighting to four areas in eastern Ukraine. This would give Kiev the opportunity to move troops from other areas into those regions. "But saving the Kiev regime is not part of our plans," Putin said.
In his view, the West was still seeking to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. "There are occasional rumours there that they supposedly no longer pursue this, but officially nobody has removed this thesis from the agenda," Putin said.
He questioned why Western powers "need a halt to the fighting and the peace negotiations" given his view that the West is still promoting a Russian defeat.
Putin has so far rejected any peaceful solution and the path to possible peace talks. An offer from Kiev for direct talks between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was also rejected. Moscow is instead insisting on its maximal demands, including full control of the Donbass.
