Putin admits plans for long battle in Ukraine, increased threat of nuclear war

During an annual meeting with the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted that the country’s army could be fighting in Ukraine for a very long time. 

"As for the duration of the special military operation, well, of course, this can be a long-term process," Putin said as he spoke about some of the problems Russia has faced during its invasion of Ukraine. 

Throughout the televised meeting, Putin justified his February invasion of Ukraine, asserting that the West viewed Russia as a “second-class country that has no right to exist.” 

Putin also went on to say that Russians would “defend ourselves with all the means at our disposal.”

According to Putin, the risk of nuclear war with the west was growing and he didn’t shy away from explaining what that meant, “This threat is increasing, I can’t deny it,” Putin said in response to a question. 

"We haven't gone mad,” Putin said during his televised meeting, “we realize what nuclear weapons are… We have these means in more advanced and modern form than any other nuclear country.”

Though Putin was quick to mention Russia’s nuclear stockpile as a viable option, he was also savvy enough to add that Russia wasn’t “about to run around the world brandishing this weapon like a razor."

"It's a factor of deterrence, not a factor provoking an escalation of the conflict," Putin added, though he did decline to rule out a theoretical first strike claiming that capability was vital to Russian defense. 

The United States denounced what it called “loose talk” about using nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine with the U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price telling reporters that the White House believed “any loose talk of nuclear weapons is absolutely irresponsible.”

But the duration of the war and the use of nuclear weapons weren't the only eye-raising statements made by Putin during his meeting. The Russian president also addressed public concerns about the possibility of a second mobilization.​

“In these conditions, any talk about additional mobilization proceedings simply doesn’t make sense. The state and the defense ministries simply don’t need this at present,” Putin said. 

Russia raised roughly 300,000 new troops in mid-September and Putin clarified that half were already directly deployed to the front line in Ukraine with the rest still in training for their future combat roles. 

Putin also denied the rumors that low morale and poor conditions were leading to an abnormally high desertion rate among the Russian ranks. 

Are there guys who deserted their combat posts? Yes, it happened … less and less now,” Putin asserted, but “I repeat once again that no cases of such nature [desertions] have a mass character.”

Finally, Putin defended the war and the “significant result” it had already had with the acquisition of new territories in Ukraine. 

The Russian leader seemed particularly fixated on the idea of the Sea of Azov, noting that it had “become an internal Russian sea. Even Peter I had fought for access to the Azov Sea.”

Right now the experts say maybe. Russia does have a launch on warning doctrine, meaning that it could fire its nuclear weapons if targeted for an imminent attack. But at the moment Putin has done little to indicate that he is ready to use any sort of nuclear weapon in his war with Ukraine.