Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that his country's military could be fighting against Ukraine for a long time, even as he stated that he does not see the need to call for another mobilisation of troops.

"As for the long process of (seeing) results of the special military operation, of course, this is a lengthy process," Putin said during a televised meeting with the Kremlin's human rights council on Wednesday.

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been going on since February. Moscow had expected the fighting to last just days before Ukraine's surrender.

Putin said Russians would "defend ourselves with all the means at our disposal", asserting that Russia was seen in the West as "a second-class country that has no right to exist at all".

At the meeting, he also said that the risk of nuclear war was growing - the latest in a series of such warnings - but that Russia saw its arsenal as a means to retaliate, not to strike first.

"We haven't gone mad, we realise what nuclear weapons are," Putin said. 

"We have these means in more advanced and modern form than any other nuclear country ... But we aren't about to run around the world brandishing this weapon like a razor."

The Russian leader said reminders of his country's nuclear arsenal were "not a factor provoking an escalation of conflicts, but a factor of deterrence."

He also said there was no reason for a second mobilisation at this point, after a call-up of at least 300,000 reservists in September and October.

Putin said 150,000 of these were deployed in Ukraine: 77,000 in combat units and the others in defensive functions. The remaining troops were still at training camps.

"Under these conditions, talk about any additional mobilisation measures simply makes no sense," he said.

Source: TRT World  

BDST: 1023 HRS, DEC 08, 2022
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