The security of Russia must be unconditionally ensured, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has held a meeting with the senior leadership of the Russian Armed Forces concerning the implementation of President Vladimir Putin's decision to increase the military's size 1.5 million.
"This is due to the war that the countries of the collective West are waging, a proxy war that includes both elements of indirect participation in hostilities and elements of economic war, financial war, legal war, going beyond the legal field, and so on. Such measures are related to this. The security of our country must be unconditionally ensured," Peskov told reporters.
The minister listened to the report of the commander of the grouping on the current situation, as well as the commanders of formations and formations on the progress of combat missions in the main directions.
Shoigu paid special attention to the creation of conditions for the safe deployment of the military, the organization of support for the troops, the work of medical and rear units.
Putin's decree on the enlargement of the Russian Army came into force on January 1, 2023. According to the document, the staff strength of the Russian Armed Forces is set at 2,039,758 people, including 1,150,628 troops. According to Shoigu, changes in the Russian army, including an increase in its number to 1.5 million military personnel, will be implemented from 2023 to 2026
Putin: Almost Entirety of NATO's Military Potential Being Actively Used Against Russia
Russian officials and some Western media and pundits have characterized the conflict in Ukraine as a proxy war between the West and Russia. The US and its allies have poured tens of billions of dollars' worth of military aid into Ukraine, trained tens of thousands of troops, and provided Kiev with intelligence and strategic level planning support.
The military potential of almost all NATO countries is being actively used against Russia, and Moscow must improve its knowledge and understanding of the Western bloc's weapons systems, experience and tactics to improve the fighting potential of the Russian military, President Vladimir Putin has said.
"It's well known that today the military potential and capabilities of almost all major NATO countries are being actively used against Russia," Putin said, speaking at a meeting with senior Russian Defense Ministry officials on Wednesday.
"All the information about NATO forces, the means which are actively used in the course of the special military operation [in Ukraine], to oppose us are well known. You have all this information before you, and it must be thoroughly analyzed, and used in the construction of our armed forces to increase the combat capabilities of the troops, as well as Russia's special services," Putin said.
Putin ordered the MoD and the General Staff to "carefully analyze" the "tremendous combat experience" gained in the course of the military operation in Ukraine, to "systematize it as quickly as possible and include it in programs and planning for the training of personnel, troops as a whole and supplying the forces with necessary equipment."
The president also pointed to the "significant resources" being spent by the United States and its allies on information and psychological warfare against Russia, including the publication of "thousands" of fake news stories in Western print and internet media and television, while covering up war crimes being carried out by the Ukrainian side.
Putin accused Moscow's geopolitical opponents of using "everything that isn't tied down" against Russia, including efforts to brainwash the population of Ukraine and other post-Soviet republics, in the aftermath of the collapse of the USSR in 1991. This process continues today, according to Putin. Russia, he said, had sought to become a part of the "civilized" world, but soon learned that it was "not expected there."
Strategic Balance
Russia will continue to build up its conventional military potential while also supporting and modernizing its nuclear triad, Putin said, referring to the latter as the main guarantee of the nation's sovereignty, and the means by which Russia helps preserve "strategic parity and the overall balance of power in the world."
Ukraine Conflict Shows Need for New Technologies
Praising the courage of the troops on the front lines in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Putin called on his colleagues to honor the memories of soldiers who have lost their lives with a minute of silence. The president stressed that the goals of the military operation will be met, and that the security of all of Russia's territories would be assured.
In connection with the military operation, Putin said that the conflict has demonstrated that the use of drone warfare has become "almost ubiquitous," and that Russia will have to arm itself with an interlinked arsenal of drones incorporated into every echelon, from companies and battalions to individual squads and platoons.
"In the near future, every individual soldier should have the opportunity to receive information transmitted from drones. We must push for this, strive for this," Putin said. "Targets need to be detected as quickly as possible, and information must be transmitted (immediately) to carry out strikes in real time."
Russia has the technical capabilities to realize this, the president believes, pointing to the defense sector's experience in developing unique underwater drones, a likely reference to the Poseidon nuclear-powered, nuclear-capable torpedo.
Turning to organizational problems, Putin called on the MoD to pay more attention to public criticism and initiatives for improving its work being floated by civilians, asking that the MoD take criticism into account and respond accordingly, in a timely matter. "It's clear that the reaction of people who see problems, (and problems in such large and complex work always appear) can be emotional, but it's necessary to listen to and hear out those who do not seek to hush up existing problems, but to contribute to their resolution."
Special operation, January 16th. The main thing:
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced the defeat by army aviation and artillery of the forces of Kyiv in the Kupyansky, Krasno-Limansky, Donetsk and South-Donetsk directions;
Peskov about the collapse of a residential building in Dnepropetrovsk: the Russian military does not strike at residential buildings and the social infrastructure of Ukraine. He also drew attention to the fact that some representatives of Kyiv have already called the air defense work the cause of the tragedy;
The liberation of the Kyiv-controlled part of the Zaporozhye region may begin in the spring, said the acting head of the Balitsky region;
The Times reported that Kyiv initially entrusted the defense of Artemovsk to foreign mercenaries and non-professional military in the expectation that the fate of hostilities would be decided in the spring;
Putin spoke on the phone with Erdogan, touched upon the issue of the exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine and the progress of the grain deal;
Ukrainian troops shelled Donetsk, hits were recorded in a supermarket, a pharmacy and a residential building, according to the People's Militia of the DPR, at least two people were killed, three were injured;
Air defense and the Black Sea Fleet shot down 10 Ukrainian drones, the governor of Sevastopol said;
Ukrainian power engineers announced a “huge shortage” of generation after a number of thermal power plants were damaged, Ukrenergo limited consumption throughout the country;
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation is ready to consider the issue of regulating the legal status in Russia of the Frenchman Adrian Boke, who visited the Donbass as a volunteer, he asked the Russian authorities to grant him political asylum;
Ukrainian military arrived in Oklahoma, where they will be trained to work with the Patriot air defense system, it is planned to train a hundred specialists;
The supply of tanks by the West to Ukraine will not change the situation, but will only prolong the suffering of the Ukrainian people, Peskov said;
Ukraine has become a "weapons laboratory in every sense" for testing Western weapons, and some of their types as a result of such "tests" may become a thing of the past, CNN reported.
