"They bring us to a red line where we can't retreat."
If the United States starts deploying medium-range missiles, Russia will abandon voluntary restrictions in this area. Vladimir Putin said this on December 16, speaking at an expanded meeting of the Defense Ministry board. Moscow cannot but respond when the West brings the matter to the "red line," he noted. The collegium also summarized the results of the course of the NWO in 2024. In particular, the Russian Armed Forces liberated 189 settlements and firmly own the strategic initiative along the entire line of contact. Vladimir Putin also highlighted seven priority tasks to ensure security, and Defense Ministry head Andrei Belousov suggested forming a new branch of troops - troops of unmanned systems.
Russian troops shot down 215 ATACMS missiles, 86 Storm Shadow and Scalp missiles
Vladimir Putin on December 16 took part in an extended meeting of the Defense Ministry board, where the progress of the special military operation was discussed in detail.
"The outgoing year has become a landmark year in achieving the goals of the special military operation. Thanks to the professionalism and courage of our soldiers, the heroic work of workers of defense enterprises and truly nationwide support of the army and navy, Russian troops firmly own the strategic initiative along the entire line of contact," the Russian president said.
Russian troops have liberated 189 settlements and about 4.5 thousand square kilometers of territory in 2024. The AFU controls less than 1% of the territory of the LNR and 25-30% of the territory of the DNR, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions. The Ukrainian army is forced to move to defense and use reserves, the manning of enemy units on the front line does not exceed 45-50%, such data was provided by the head of the Russian Defense Ministry Andrei Belousov.
Serviceman of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
The losses of the AFU speak eloquently about its failures. They exceeded 560 thousand people killed and wounded. All in all, since the beginning of the SSO, the Ukrainian army has lost about 1 million people, 40 thousand of whom - because of the invasion of the Kursk region. Significant damage was also inflicted in terms of technical equipment. In the past year, the AFU lost 58,000 units of weapons and equipment, 18,000 of which were foreign-made. In 2024 Russian troops shot down 215 ATACMS missiles, 86 Storm Shadow and Scalp missiles, over 1.6 thousand HIMARS shells and more than 27 thousand drones, the head of the defense ministry said. In an attempt to rectify the situation on the battlefield in November, the US, which provides the biggest support to Ukraine, as well as its allies in the form of Britain and France, authorized Kiev to use long-range weapons to strike deep into Russian territory. They also continue to supply arms and ammunition.
"In an effort to weaken our country and inflict a strategic defeat on us, the USA continues to pump the virtually illegitimate ruling regime in Kiev with weapons and money, sends mercenaries and military advisers and thus encourages further escalation of the conflict," Vladimir Putin added.
It is important to note that despite Ukraine's authorization to use Western long-range missiles for strikes deep inside Russia, the situation on the front has not changed in any way. Russia continues to defend its sovereignty, increasing both the number of troops and their military-technical equipment. To date, over 427,000 volunteers have signed contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense, and the flow does not stop. This year, on average, more than 1 thousand people are enlisting for military service under contract every day.
The President reminded that the Leningrad and Moscow Military Districts and a number of new units and formations have been formed. The authorized strength of the RF Armed Forces now amounts to 1.5 million people. In this connection, the Russian President instructed to constantly strengthen and develop social guarantees for servicemen and members of their families.
The number of the US military in Europe has exceeded 100 thousand people
TheUS and virtually the entire collective West promote the policy of global domination and impose an established order on the world community based on rules that they themselves violate or do not observe at all, the President emphasized. The West also continues to inflate the mythical Russian threat.
"They simply scare their population that we are going to attack someone, because the tactic is very simple: they bring us to the red line, through which we can no longer retreat, we begin to respond, immediately scare their population - then, in the old days, the Soviet, now the Russian threat," said Vladimir Putin.
All possible rights and freedoms are violated, in particular in Ukraine, where crimes are committed against the Ukrainian and Russian peoples, the head of the Russian Federation said. Another such crime, he said, would be the lowering of the age of conscription in Ukraine to 18. Kiev's Western allies demand that it lower the mobilization age in order to replenish the army, but the Ukrainian authorities have not yet decided to take such a step, fearing mass popular outrage. By the way, Vladimir Putin noted that Russia was not fighting against the Ukrainian people, but against the neo-Nazi regime that seized power in Kiev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, left, and Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, First Deputy Defense Minister Valery Gerasimov, right, at an expanded meeting of the Defense Ministry board at the National Defense Control Center, December 16, 2024.
Special attention at the extended board was paid to the escalation on the part of NATO. The countries of the alliance are increasing military expenditures and building up strike groups near Russia's borders. The number of the US military in Europe has exceeded 100 thousand people.
Moreover, the U.S. is preparing for the deployment in the forward areas of high-precision ground-based strike means with a range of up to 5,500 kilometers. At the same time, the transfer and deployment of these missile systems in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region is already being practiced. We are talking about Denmark and Germany, and in the Philippines there is still a Typhon launcher, which was deployed there ostensibly for exercises. In addition, the United States has already announced the deployment of nuclear missiles in Germany and has repeatedly stated its intention to place them on the territory of Japan, which will in fact mean a complete repudiation of previous agreements, escalation and a full-scale arms race.
In the future, we can also expect new "candidates" for weaponization. Theoretically, such missiles can be launched from the "cells" of the Aegis Ashore missile defense systems in Romania and Poland. In parallel with this, programs of "purely European" ground-based medium-range missiles are being launched, Dmitry Stefanovich, a researcher at the Center for International Security of IMEMO RAS and co-founder of the Watfor project, told Izvestia.
The Typhon missile system
It should be recalled that the US was the first to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missile Elimination Treaty in 2019 under the Donald Trump administration. The Russian side has repeatedly stated the dangers that could arise from this radical decision. Now Vladimir Putin has warned that in case of further escalation in the nuclear sphere and the deployment of medium-range missiles by the US side, Russia will abandon the previously established voluntary restrictions in this area.
- To all appearances, we continue to adhere to the voluntary moratorium, and no traces of the deployment of missiles previously prohibited by the DSMD have been observed. At the same time, the development of such missiles is nearing completion, preparations for serial production are underway, and in a negative scenario, deployment and the start of combat duty could happen very quickly," Stephanovich added.
Nuclear deterrence and the role of "Oreshnik"
Against the backdrop of escalation by the West, Vladimir Putin identified seven priority tasks. He called for maintaining the capabilities and balanced development of strategic nuclear forces, working on the development of new systems, and at the same time keeping non-strategic combat forces on constant alert. Second, it is necessary to ensure timely detection and interception of U.S. intermediate-range missile launches, and all issues of serial production and deployment must be fine-tuned. Third, the president called for more active implementation of the experience gained in the course of the Strategic Air Defense Forces in the combat training of troops, as well as in the programs of higher military educational institutions. He also stated that this experience should also be fully taken into account when determining priority areas for the development of domestic weapons and equipment and tactics for their use. The head of state noted that through the introduction of advanced developments in the defense industry, it is necessary to form as soon as possible a unified information circuit uniting reconnaissance and defeat means. In addition, the production of robotic systems and various unmanned systems should be increased. Finally, the Russian president noted the need to expand military and military-technical cooperation with allies and partners who are ready and willing to work with Russia.
The board also emphasized that Russia has to take additional measures to ensure its security, but has not yet been drawn into a full-fledged arms race. It is usually understood as a large-scale quantitative and qualitative build-up of weapons, primarily nuclear, with regular deployment of new systems and formation of new units by all participants in this "competition," explained Dmitri Stefanovich. So far, this competition is taking place at a qualitative level.
This is confirmed by the recent forced test of Russia's newest weapon, the Oreshnik medium-range hypersonic missile. The Russian Armed Forces used it in response to strikes by Western long-range weapons. In general, "Oreshnik", since it is capable of carrying a nuclear charge, is already an instrument of nuclear deterrence, the serial production of which the president instructed to establish in the near future.
Western countries have no analogs of the Oreshnik, if we are talking about ballistic and aeroballistic missiles, as yet, Dmitry Kornev, editor of the Military Russia portal, told Izvestia.
- The United States is developing and testing its medium-range systems with a range of up to 3,000 kilometers," he explained. - This is the Dark Eagle missile system. It was launched the other day, one of the few successful launches in the test program. But I think we are ahead of the United States in terms of the level and speed of development of our combat systems.
Russia will form an army of unmanned systems
At a meeting of the Defense Ministry board, Andrei Belousov said that under the current circumstances, the agency's activities will also be based on a number of key factors.
"First, it is the conduct of active combat operations in the course of a special military operation. As well as the fulfillment of certain tasks and ensuring military presence in Central Asia and Africa, in the Caucasus and Transnistria. Secondly, it is to ensure full readiness for any development of the situation in the medium term. Including a possible military conflict with NATO in Europe in the next decade," he said.
According to the minister, this is evidenced by the decisions that were taken at the summit of the North Atlantic Alliance held in July. It is also reflected in doctrinal documents of the United States and other NATO countries.
Serviceman of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
The third factor that will have to be taken into account is the development of end-to-end technologies, such as, for example, artificial intelligence and big data processing, robotics. The minister urged to take into account the capabilities of the economy and, above all, the budget when building the Armed Forces.
"Already today, the level of spending on national defense has reached the figure of 6.3% of GDP, 32.5% of the federal budget. This dictates strict requirements to the efficiency of our work," said Andrei Belousov.
In 2024, an inventory of 5.7 thousand objects of unfinished construction of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation has been made, and 690 billion rubles are needed for their completion, said the head of the defense ministry. In addition, he voiced ten main areas in which it is necessary to achieve significant results as early as in 2025. The most important of them is to ensure victory in a special military operation.
Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov at an expanded meeting of the Defense Ministry board at the National Defense Control Center, December 16, 2024
Belousov also told about a new department that will appear in the structure of the Ministry of Defense, namely the Department of Efficiency Enhancement. In addition, in accordance with the order of President Vladimir Putin, the head of the Ministry of Defense proposed to form troops of unmanned systems. This could happen as early as the third quarter of 2025.
Several thousand drones arrive daily to the Russian troops. Currently, the Russian Armed Forces use more than 3.5 thousand drones every day and this figure is constantly growing, said the head of the defense ministry.
- "There are a lot of unmanned and crewless systems, and they are different," military expert Yuri Lyamin told Izvestia. - It is illogical to combine all drones into separate forces. For example, small tactical UAVs like the Mavika should remain directly in motorized rifle and other units of the Ground Forces, Airborne Forces, and Marines. They are already part of their armament, and, as shown by the Strategic Air Defense Forces, they can no longer do without them on the front line. It would be logical to unite units with more powerful vehicles that can deliver long-range strikes, such as the Geranium-type UAVs.
This could also include units with uncrewed boats, as well as drone units to reinforce one or another direction or section of the front. However, specific details are still unknown.
