The Kremlin has warned the US that sending more weapons to Ukraine will only aggravate the devastating 10-month war ignited by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking during a meeting with his top military brass on Wednesday, Putin said Moscow would use the combat experience from Ukraine to enhance its armed forces. He told the military leaders to analyse the Western weapons used by Ukraine to “develop our armed forces and strengthen the capability of our troops.”
He said special emphasis would go to developing nuclear forces, which he described as “the main guarantee of Russia’s sovereignty.”
Putin also said Russian military’s new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile would enter service shortly. The Sarmat is intended to replace the aging Soviet-built ballistic missiles and form the core of Russia’s nuclear forces. Putin has hailed its capacity to dodge missile defences.
The Bullish Rhetoric from Moscow came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President Joe Biden in Washington, where U.S. officials announced a huge new military aid package for Kyiv. The $1.8 billion package includes for the first time a Patriot missile battery and precision guided bombs for fighter jets, U.S. officials said.
In a same speech at the same meeting, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russia’s military must expand from its current size of 1 million personnel to 1.5 million service members, a number that should include 695,000 volunteer contract soldiers.
The Russian military had about 400,000 contract soldiers as part of its 1-million-member military before the invasion of Ukraine.
All Russian men aged between 18 and 27 are obliged to serve in the military for one year, but many go to college and others use health exemptions to avoid joining the military.
Shoigu said Russia would form new units in the country’s west in view of ambitions by Finland and Sweden to join NATO.
Source: Euro News, AP News, The Times of Israel, image from Twitter: @cnni