PATRIOT PARK /Moscow Region/, August 15. /TASS/. Ukraine’s military resources are "almost exhausted," while Moscow’s special military operation has made it clear that there is nothing on the battlefield that is invulnerable to Russian weapons, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said in an address to the 11th Moscow Conference on International Security.
According to him, history has once again chosen Russia to be "a driving force promoting the interests of the majority of independent states," while Kiev’s defeat will become "a factor in combating modern neocolonialism."
TASS has gathered the key takeaways from Shoigu’s address.
On the special military operation
"It’s not [just] the Ukrainian armed forces but the entire collective West that is confronting Russia, which has recently been joined by certain countries from the Asia-Pacific region."
Foreign advisors "are using Ukrainian troops to work out and fine-tune various scenarios for conducting military action" involving Western weapons without having to incur body-counts among their own countries’ troops, but, "Ukraine’s resources are almost exhausted."
On Western weaponry
The deployment of Western weapons and "NATO’s allegedly advanced methods" cannot provide Ukraine with combat superiority: "There is nothing on the battlefield at this point that is unique or invulnerable to Russian weapons."
Russian troops "are ready to share their assessments of the weaknesses of Western equipment" with Moscow’s partners.
On modernization of the Russian army
"The special military operation has proven to be a serious test for the Russian army. We have had to swiftly resolve organizational, technical and operational challenges."
In a very short time, Russia has increased the production of missile and artillery weapons, armored equipment and drones. "The imperative need to increase the production of military hardware and ammunition amid Western sanctions has provided an additional impetus for import substitution efforts by defense sector enterprises."
On the crimes of the Kiev regime
Russia forwards information on a daily basis about the Kiev regime’s violations of humanitarian law to UN institutions and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), but: "Unfortunately, there has been no response." Kiev continues to regularly shell the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) using heavy weapons, which could trigger a nuclear disaster.
Kiev used the Black Sea grain deal "as a cover to shield it from Russian missile strikes," stockpiled "significant supplies of weapons and ammunition <...> in Odessa and at other Black Sea ports," and launched the production of drones near grain storage sites, which it uses to attack civilian infrastructure facilities in Crimea.
The US used to consider the use of cluster munitions as a war crime but, now, "they are committing this [very] crime in Ukraine." Russia has been refraining from using such ammunition for humanitarian reasons: "However, this decision may be reconsidered."
Russia as a 'driving force'
"History has once again chosen Russia to be a driving force in promoting the interests of the majority of independent states." "Just like in the past century, when the defeat of Nazism by the Red Army gave a powerful impetus to the anticolonial movement across the world, today, the defeat of the Western-backed Ukrainian neo-Nazis will become a factor in combating modern neocolonialism."
The West provokes local conflicts all over the world, raising tensions around Taiwan through the same methods that were previously employed "to destabilize the situation around Ukraine."
Moscow intends to continue boosting defense cooperation with Asia-Pacific nations. Its cooperation with North Korea is "in the core interests" of the two countries’ peoples and "does not create threats for anyone."
Russia will also expand military and technical cooperation with African countries, which "need to have advanced armed forces, [which are] well-trained and well-equipped, capable of independently responding to challenges and threats to their security."
On protecting Russia and its allies
NATO has significantly stepped up its military activities since Finland joined the alliance "and the bloc has de facto absorbed Sweden’s military institutions." Moscow will "respond appropriately" to threats and attempts at provocations, particularly by strengthening the security of the Russia-Belarus Union State.
"No one should be under the illusion that it’s possible to cause damage to Russian interests during the special military operation."