Putin says motivation important for victory in Ukraine conflict

In solving the tasks of a special operation, the key factors are the motivation and internal readiness of soldiers, not only the availability of modern weapons and ammunition. This was pointed out by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the session of the Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) countries in Astana.

"The most important thing is that even with the most modern weapons, the fate <...> including a special military operation, is decided on the ground, on the battlefield, ultimately everything depends on the soldier. Of course, both equipment and combat kit are necessary for victory. But the most important thing is motivation, a person's inner readiness to fight," the Russian leader said.

According to him, Russian fighters are fighting for their homeland, future and their children in the zone of a special military operation. Putin also noted that Russian fighters see and realize what has fallen to their lot and what they are fighting for.

"Our fighters, on the contrary, understand perfectly well what they are fighting for, what they are shedding blood for. They see that it has fallen to their share, to the share of our generation as a whole, as it has happened many times in our history, to stand in the way of those forces that have once again decided to destroy Russia, to inflict, as they say today, a strategic defeat on it," the Russian President said.

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On the same day, Putin told a session of the CSTO Collective Security Council in Astana that Russia had launched 100 missiles and 466 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at targets in Ukraine over the past two days. He said that Moscow launched a massive strike overnight, in which 90 missiles and 100 drones were fired. As a result, 17 military and industrial facilities were hit.

On November 21, the Russian president said that Ukraine had used Western long-range weapons against the Russian state, causing the regional conflict to take on elements of a global conflict. He also said that one of Russia's newest medium-range missile systems, the Oreshnik ballistic missile, had been tested under combat conditions.

The special operation to protect Donbass, which began on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was taken against the background of the aggravated situation in the region.