Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted Tuesday that Russia is lacking in drones and other equipment in its war against Ukraine.
Putin made the remarks during a meeting with war correspondents. The despotic leader told state media that things were missing in Russia’s “special military operation.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he speaks during a meeting with Russian war correspondents who cover a special military operation at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, June 13, 2023. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
“These are high-precision ammunition, communications equipment, aircraft, drones, and so on,” Putin said. “We have them, unfortunately, we lack them quantitatively.”
Putin said production for these weapons has more than double over the past year and by “10 times for the most demanded areas.”
FILE: Ukrainian soldiers fire a cannon near Bakhmut, an eastern city where fierce battles against Russian forces have been taking place, in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, May 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Libkos )
Putin’s comments at an open meeting with military journalists and bloggers followed Kyiv’s claims that Ukrainian troops had captured a handful of villages in the early stages of the counteroffensive.
The meeting, which lasted more than two hours, came after Russian missile strikes in central Ukraine killed at least 11 people overnight.
Putin asserted that Ukraine lost 160 tanks and over 360 other armored vehicles, while Russia lost 54 tanks since the new assault began.
