Vladimir Putin was full and optimistic yesterday in Koubinka, near Moscow, where an international arms fair was being held in which he boasted about the weapons of the Russian army. Despite the fact that some Western services have pointed out that Russia has revealed its weaknesses during the war in Ukraine, the Russian president promised his allies "the most modern infantry weapons, armored vehicles, through artillery, combat aviation or drones" .
Putin justified that Russian weapons are appreciated in the world for their quality, their high efficiency and for the fact that "they have been used on different occasions in real combat conditions."
The strong man of the Kremlin affirmed that Russia "has many allies" and expressly mentioned the "links of trust" that it maintains in countries of Latin America, Asia and Africa. “These are states that do not waver in the face of a supposed hegemony [of the United States]. Its leaders have shown true manly character.”
Putin also welcomed the training of thousands of foreign soldiers in Russia, which "opens up great prospects for considering our schools as their alma mater." At the end of his speech, the Russian president invited his allies to participate in military exercises in Moscow.
In this context, the official North Korean agency also released a congratulatory letter from Putin to Kim Jon Un on the occasion of the 74th anniversary of the liberation, in which the former urged North Korea to strengthen cooperation ties with Russia.
Between 2017 and 2021, Russia has become the second largest arms exporter in the world, with a market share of 19%, according to data released by the Stockholm Institute (Sipri). It should be noted that these figures have been going down in recent years. Western sanctions against Moscow now threaten to penalize those sales by blocking logistical and financial circuits.
Despite these difficulties, the director of the Russian federal agency for cooperation in armaments, Dimitri Chougaev, told the Ria-Novosti agency on Monday that Russia had signed arms contracts worth 16,000 million in 2022 and that it had orders in its portfolio. worth 57,000 million.
Putin's statements contrast with the strategy followed by the Russian army in Ukraine. In a first phase, Russian troops entered through the eastern, northern and southern borders with the aim of converging on Kyiv in just a few days. However, major errors in the logistical design of the operation and the action of drones left his troops pinned to the ground, in particular the column of armored cars advancing from the north on the Ukrainian capital.
After this setback, Russia concentrated its troops in the east of the country with the intention of concentrating its attacks in the eastern Donbass region. Yesterday Putin stated that his troops are advancing "step by step" in the liberation of this region. Ukrainian defense sources replied that the Russian attacks had been repulsed at numerous points.
In the war practiced in recent months, Russia has exhibited a clear superiority in long-range artillery and air control. However, he practices a war based on the systematic bombing of residential areas and involves the absolute destruction of the cities he takes over. This strategy was practiced by the Russian army in its involvement in northern Syria.
