Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed on Friday to press his offensive in Ukraine despite Ukraine’s latest counterattack and warned that Moscow could step up its strikes on the country’s vital infrastructure if Ukrainian forces target facilities in Russia. Speaking to reporters on Friday after attending a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Uzbekistan, Putin said the “liberation” of Ukraine’s entire eastern Donbass region remains Russia’s main military goal and he sees no need to revise. “We are in no rush,” the Russian leader said, adding that Moscow has only deployed volunteer soldiers to fight in Ukraine. Some hardline political and military bloggers have urged the Kremlin to follow Ukraine’s example and order a broad mobilization to bolster the ranks, protesting Russia’s manpower shortage. Russia was forced to withdraw its forces from large areas of northeastern Ukraine last week after a swift Ukrainian counteroffensive. Ukraine’s move to regain control of several Russian-held towns and villages marked the biggest military setback for Moscow since its forces were forced to retreat from areas near the capital at the start of the war. In his first comment on the Ukrainian counteroffensive, Putin said: “Let’s see how it develops and how it ends.” He noted that Ukraine has tried to strike civilian infrastructure in Russia and “so far we have responded with restraint, but still.” “If the situation develops in this way, our response will be more serious,” Putin said. “Just recently, the Russian armed forces carried out some spectacular strikes,” he said in an apparent reference to Russian attacks earlier this week on power plants in northern Ukraine and a dam in the south. “Let’s think of them as warning shots.” He claimed, without elaborating, that Ukraine tried to launch attacks “near our nuclear facilities, nuclear power plants,” adding that “we will retaliate if they do not understand that such methods are unacceptable.” Russia has reported numerous explosions and fires at civilian infrastructure in areas near Ukraine, as well as at ammunition depots and other facilities. Ukraine claimed responsibility for some of the attacks and declined to comment on others. Putin also sought on Friday to allay India’s concern over the conflict in Ukraine, telling Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Moscow wants to see a quick end to the fighting and asserting that Ukrainian officials will not negotiate. “I know your stance on the conflict in Ukraine and the concerns you have repeatedly expressed,” the Russian leader told Modi. “We will do everything we can to get this over with as soon as possible. “Unfortunately, the other side, the leadership of Ukraine, rejected the negotiation process and declared that they want to achieve their goals by military means, on the battlefield.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says it is Russia that allegedly does not want to negotiate seriously. He also insisted on the withdrawal of Russian troops from the occupied territories of Ukraine as a condition for talks. Putin’s remarks during talks with Modi echoed comments the Russian leader made during Thursday’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, when Putin thanked him for his government’s “balanced position” on the Ukraine war. while adding that he was ready to discuss China’s unspecified “concerns”. about Ukraine. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Putin said he and Xi “discussed what we should do under the current circumstances to effectively deal with illegal restrictions” imposed by the West. The European Union, the United States and other Western nations have imposed sanctions on Russian energy over the war in Ukraine. Xi, in a statement released by his government, expressed support for Russia’s “core interests” but also an interest in working together to “bring stability” to global affairs. China’s relations with Washington, Europe, Japan and India have been strained by disputes over technology, security, human rights and territory. Zhang Lihua, an international relations expert at Tsinghua University, said the reference to stability “mainly relates to China-US relations,” adding that “the United States is using all means to suppress China, which forced China to seek cooperation with Russia.” China and India have refused to join Western sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, while increasing purchases of Russian oil and gas, helping Moscow offset economic restrictions imposed by the US and its allies. Putin also met Friday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss boosting economic cooperation and regional issues, including a July deal brokered by Turkey and the United Nations that allowed Ukrainian grain exports to resume through its ports. Black Sea. Speaking at the Uzbekistan summit on Friday, Xi warned his Central Asian neighbors not to allow outsiders to destabilize them. The warning reflects Beijing’s concern that Western support for democracy and human rights activists is a plot to undermine Xi’s ruling Communist Party and other authoritarian governments. “We must prevent outside forces from instigating a color revolution,” Xi said in a speech to leaders of Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states, referring to protests that have toppled unpopular regimes in the former Soviet Union and the Middle East. Xi offered to train 2,000 police officers, set up a regional counter-terrorism training center and “strengthen law enforcement capacity building”. He did not provide further details. His comments echoed long-standing Russian complaints about color democratic uprisings in many former Soviet nations that the Kremlin saw as fueled by the US and its allies. Xi is promoting a “Global Security Initiative” announced in April after the US, Japan, Australia and India formed the Quad in response to Beijing’s more assertive foreign policy. US officials complain that it echoes Russian arguments in support of Moscow’s actions in Ukraine. Central Asia is part of China’s multibillion-dollar Belt and Road initiative to expand trade by building ports, railways and other infrastructure across an arc of dozens of countries from the South Pacific to Asia to the Middle East, Europe and Africa. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was created by Russia and China as a counterweight to US influence. The group also includes India, Pakistan and the four former Soviet states of Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Iran is well on its way to full membership.
