Russia Putin praises pace of Russian conquests
Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised the speed with which his troops are occupying new territories in neighboring Ukraine during an appearance before schoolchildren. Ukraine had tried to halt the advance of Russian troops in the Donbass with its counterattack in the Kursk region - in vain.
02.09.2024, 14:57
SDA
"We are not talking about advancing 200 or 300 meters," Putin said according to Russian news agencies. Instead, we are talking about several square kilometers. "We haven't had such a pace in the offensive in Donbass for a long time."
On his way to Mongolia, Putin made a stop in the Siberian republic of Tuva to hold a lesson in the new subject "Conversations about the Important", which was introduced after the start of the war. The propagandistically tinged lessons are intended to familiarize children with the Kremlin's political course. On the first day of school, Putin has repeatedly slipped into the role of head teacher in recent years.
In public lessons, he repeated the claim that the war of aggression he had ordered was in defense of his own country. "We are protecting both the people living in the Donbass and our common future - the future of Russia, because we cannot afford to have hostile structures created under our noses that are harbouring aggressive plans against our country and constantly trying to destabilize Russia," he said. The Kremlin leader was alluding to Kiev's hopes of joining NATO.
While Putin once again justified his own attack on foreign territory, he called the Ukrainian soldiers involved in the counterattack on the Kursk region "bandits" with whom Russia must settle accounts. The Ukrainian troops still have the initiative in the Kursk region, partly because Russia has refrained from withdrawing soldiers from the main attack area in Donetsk to repel the attack.
