Putin Promises Victory In Ukraine: ‘No Doubt…Goals Will Be Achieved’

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday pledged that the invasion of Ukraine will continue until his country emerges as the victor.

Speaking at a press conference, Putin said the war in Ukraine is a “tragedy” but said Russia had no choice but to fight to defend the Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine. He claimed that the “special military operations” would prevent Ukraine and its former Soviet neighbors from becoming an anti-Russian springboard for the enemies of Russia. Putin also repeated past claims that Ukraine’s government had “neo-Nazi” roots.

“Our task is to fulfill and achieve all the goals set, minimizing losses. And we will act rhythmically, calmly, according to the plan originally proposed by the General Staff,” Putin said during the news conference.

The war in Ukraine has extended into its seventh week. Russia has lost an estimated 7,000 to 15,000 soldiers in the fight, a senior NATO military official said. Despite the losses, Putin said he has no doubts that the operation would achieve its goals.

“Its goals are absolutely clear and noble. There is no doubt that the goals will be achieved,” Putin said.

The Russian president also said that peace talks with Ukraine had hit a dead end. He said Ukraine specifically backed down on two of his demands: the recognition of Crimea as a Russian state and the recognition of the eastern Donbas region as an independent state, according to RT.

Speaking on CBS’ 60 Minutes on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he remains open to peace talks with Putin in the future. However, he noted that he could not accept Crimea as Russian territory.

Putin’s news conference comes just a day after it was reported that he purged 150 FSB officers belonging to the Fifth Service for giving “false information” about the situation in Ukraine prior to the invasion. The head of the service was also imprisoned over the botched invasion.

According to reports, Sergei Beseda, the former head of the Fifth Service, was also taken to the Lefortovo prison in Moscow. The prison is infamous for being used as an interrogation and torture site during the “Great Terror,” a brutal political campaign led by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.