Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, in a speech to the board of the Ministry of Defense of the aggressor country, said that “all tasks for 2023” were allegedly completed by the occupying army.
A meeting of the Board of the Ministry of Defense was held in Russia, where Sergei Shoigu reported the so-called “successes” of the Russian army last year. In the same event, Vladimir Putin promised to fight until 2024, until the “goals of the North Military District” are fully achieved.
Numbers out of thin air
Shoigu says the aggressor country has taken unprecedented steps to rearm its army. They allegedly increased the capacity of the military-industrial complex by four times, increased the production of tanks by 5.6 times, drones by 16.8 times, and artillery by 17.5 times.
Moreover, Shoigu is confident that Russian technology “has shown greater efficiency than analogues of NATO countries,” and the attack on Ukraine “united the army and the people.” “Every day, one and a half thousand people sign contracts, seven times the number of foreign volunteers willing to take the side of the truth,” lied Shoigu.
“In general, all the tasks specified for 2023 have been completed by the Armed Forces, and the specified level of defense capability maintenance has been ensured,” asserted the Minister of Defense of the occupiers.
Putin wants robots
Putin said the attack on Ukraine also revealed problems. “So, we need to seriously organize the operation of the communication system, use modern methods of reconnaissance, target designation and counter-battery warfare more effectively, increase the capabilities of our satellite constellation, not only in the special operation zone, but also at the international level,” said the dictator.
According to Putin, the Russians need to take seriously the production and supply of high-precision projectiles and various types of drones. “I know that changes are happening, they are happening quickly, I will say more about it. But we still need to study it, we need to integrate this trend. The task of air defense requires also improvement,” said the president of the aggressor country.
Putin also said that the Russian army must be equipped, in particular, with equipment based on artificial intelligence and new physical principles.
According to him, the army of invaders should be equipped with robotic systems and combat lasers. “I mean robotic systems and combat lasers, weapons that use artificial intelligence technologies and are based on new physical principles,” he stressed.
At the same time, Putin complains that the West is “transferring weapons scouted in real time to the enemy” and is waging a hybrid war against Russia.
“The West is not giving up its strategy of deterring Russia and not giving up its aggressive goals in Ukraine. Well, we will not give up our SVO (war) goals,” Putin said.
Real situation
Experts noted that Shoigu was right in only one thing in his speech – during the 20 months of the war, the Russian army really gained a lot of experience, although mostly negative. It turned out that the Russian armed forces could not achieve their offensive goals (against a strong enemy). In 2023, the army conducted several offensive operations, none of which ended in success. The only relative success – the capture of Bakhmut, Soledar and their surroundings – was achieved mainly by the forces of the Wagner PMC.
The main problem that the Russian command still cannot solve is the inability of aviation to establish dominance in the skies of Ukraine. At the same time, they are dealing with an air force that is an order of magnitude inferior in number (but with strong air defense). The weakness of aviation results in the inability of troops to penetrate the full depth of the enemy’s defenses and conduct maneuverable operations. Russia lost a large amount of equipment, only the size of the Russian army increased. However, there is no evidence that there are “volunteers” here, as the propaganda claims.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.