Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, admitted on Tuesday that Russia lacks drones and other equipment to wage war against Ukraine.
Putin made these remarks at a meeting of war correspondents. The despotic leader said in state media that there were things missing from Russia’s “special operation.”
Putin stated that the items included high-precision weapons, communications equipment and aircraft. “We have these, but unfortunately we are short of them in terms of quantity.”
Putin stated that the production of these weapons had more than doubled over the last year, and “ten times” for the most requested areas.
Putin, despite a rare admission by the Russian leader said that Ukrainian forces suffered “catastrophic losses” in a counteroffensive. He also suggested he might order his troops in Ukraine to take more land to protect Russian border territory.
Putin said that he did not intend to mobilize troops again, as some Russians had feared. However, he didn’t rule out the possibility. He reiterated Russia’s claim that Ukraine is responsible for the blowing up of a Dnieper River Dam that caused massive flooding on both side of the frontline last week in the south.
Putin’s remarks at an open discussion with military journalists, bloggers and bloggers came after Kyiv claimed that Ukrainian troops had taken a few villages during the initial stages of the counteroffensive.
The meeting, lasting more than two-hours, was held after Russian missile attacks in central Ukraine overnight killed at least eleven people.
Putin claimed that Ukraine had lost 160 tanks, and more than 360 other armored vehicle since the new offensive began. Russia has lost 54 tanks.
An American official familiar with American Intelligence told The Associated Press, that Putin’s remarks were “not accurate”, and warned against putting too much stock in Russia public assessments.