Russian President Vladimir Putin stated on Friday that the oil production cuts decided by the OPEC+ alliance are non-political and unrelated to what Moscow calls its special military operation in Ukraine. In remarks made at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin said, "This is not related to Russia's special military operations or any other considerations," adding that "the current oil pricing environment is suitable for Russia."
He noted that "Western partners have officially abandoned peaceful settlement, despite having signed agreements, and then publicly stated that they were deceiving. This drove Russia to use armed forces to stop this war." Putin addressed the West's efforts to "inflict a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield," saying, "But we have set our sights on destroying the Ukrainian military machine and rooting out Nazism from there."
He observed that "all the weapons in Ukraine come from abroad, so this situation will not last forever. Russian arms manufacturing plants operate day and night, and Russia has a large stockpile of weapons and ammunition." Regarding the situation on the front lines after the start of the counteroffensive, Putin remarked, "Some sectors of the front are witnessing Ukrainian units reaching the first line of defense, but the Ukrainian forces are using their strategic reserve to breach the defenses, and nonetheless, they have not achieved any significant success."
He emphasized that "Ukrainian losses compared to Russian losses are 1 to 10." He assured that "the Russian Ministry of Defense will reveal the numbers, but it is clear that there are no successes for the Ukrainian side. There is currently an attempt in some sectors of the front with units on the Zaporizhia axis, and they reached the first line of defense, but there is no opportunity for the Ukrainian armed forces to make any progress."
Putin disclosed that his country has transferred the first batch of nuclear weapons to Belarus, in fulfillment of what Moscow announced in March. He indicated that the Poles want to reclaim the western parts of Ukraine and are gradually moving towards that. Putin stated, "The Poles have their own goals; they dream of reclaiming Western Ukraine, and it seems that they are gradually moving toward that."
He mentioned that his Jewish friends consider Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to be "a disgrace to the Jewish people." He explained, "I have many Jewish friends since childhood, and they say that Zelensky is not a Jew, but a disgrace to the Jewish people. This is not a joke, as the neo-Nazis, the successors of Hitler, have taken the platform of Ukraine as if they are heroes."
Putin clarified that Russia would use all means if there is a threat to the existence of the Russian state. In response to a question about the potential for using nuclear weapons, he stated, "The use of extreme means is possible if there is a threat to the Russian state, and in this case, of course, we will use all the powers and means at the disposal of the Russian state."
He noted that "Russia does not need to use nuclear weapons," pointing out that "the United States is the only country in the world that has used nuclear weapons against a non-nuclear state."
