MOSCOW, December 22. /TASS/. Russia will continue the special military operation in defiance of the massive Western aid to Ukraine, the chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, told an audience of foreign military attaches on Thursday.
He touched upon the stabilization of the line of engagement, the results of strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure and operations by Russian aviation, as well as the amount of weapons and equipment provided to Kiev by the Western countries.
This is the gist of what Gerasimov said at the news briefing.
Progress in special military operation
- The Russian Armed Forces "will continue the planned efforts to conduct the special military operation to fulfill all the tasks set by the supreme commander-in-chief."
- The hostilities are fierce. Kiev uses terrorist methods and resorts to nuclear terrorism, such as the shelling of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.
- The situation along the 815-kilometer line of engagement has stabilized. The Russian military has focused the main efforts on completing the liberation of the DPR. Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 21 said that the line of engagement was more than a thousand kilometers long.
- Long-range high accuracy weapons have hit more than 1,300 critically important targets, thus significantly reducing the potential of the Ukrainian army and disrupting its command system, paralyzing the military-industrial complex and hindering the delivery of military supplies.
- The Kinzhal hypersonic complex, used in combat conditions for the first time, showed its "high efficiency and invulnerability to the air defense systems deployed in Ukraine."
- Russia’s tactical and army aviation performs about 150 sorties a day. It has already destroyed more than 11,000 pieces of Ukrainian military hardware. Drones have hit more than 600 targets.
Western supplies to Kiev
- The United States and its allies are increasing military support for Ukraine, "thus prolonging the conflict." Foreign financial support for Kiev has already climbed to $100 billion.
- Since the beginning of Russia’s operation, the West has supplied to Ukraine more than 350 tanks and about 1,000 armored combat vehicles, up to 700 artillery systems and 100 multiple launch rocket systems, as well as more than 5,300 man-portable air defense systems and 130,000 anti-tank weapons.
- In addition, the Western countries have supplied to Ukraine 4 planes and more than 30 helicopters, as well as at least 5,000 drones.
US and NATO actions
- The West has actually ruined the global arms control system. The sole instrument left of it - the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms - does not work "as it was intended" due to the restrictions imposed during the coronavirus pandemic.
- The United States considers NATO as a tool to protect its interests to the detriment of the security of European countries. The alliance's actions fan tensions and reduce the level of security along the line of engagement with Russia. The alliance is adamant to spread its influence beyond the Euro-Atlantic region.
- Washington and its allies have been intensifying confrontation with Russia in the Arctic. They question Moscow's rights to the Northern Sea Route. This is "one of the main challenges to security in the region."
- The West causes a negative impact on the situation in Central Asia and seeks to strengthen its influence in the South Caucasus, including "by demonstrating ostensible readiness to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh problem."
- In the Asia-Pacific region, the United States has been trying to break the existing system of cooperation and destabilize the situation with "provocative measures against China in support of the independence of Taiwan." Russia and China naturally react to the aggressive build-up of the US potential with joint patrols and exercises.
- Moscow is not going to follow Washington's example by creating new alliances and dividing lines in the Asia-Pacific region.
Defense Ministry plans
- Russia continues "routine activities to strengthen the defense capability." In the outgoing year, the army has obtained more than 3,100 pieces of armored, rocket-artillery and other weapons. The Aerospace Force was provided with "modern aviation systems and upgraded helicopter gunships."
- Next year, the Russian military will conduct the Zapad-2023 exercise and the Union Shield-2023 joint exercise with Belarus. Contingents from partner countries will be invited to participate.
- The Defense Ministry remains committed to such priorities as partnership and allied relations with the CIS countries, the military component of the Collective Defense Treaty Organization and interaction with the defense ministries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s member-states.