Reuters: Putin says Russia may be fighting in Ukraine for a long time
(Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that his army could be fighting in Ukraine for a long time, but he saw no need to mobilise additional soldiers at this point.
"As for the duration of the special military operation, well, of course, this can be a long process," Putin said, using his preferred term to refer to the Russian invasion now in its 10th month.
But he said there was "no sense" in a second round of mobilisation at this point, after a call-up of 300,000 reservists in September and October. Putin said that out of that total, 150,000 were now deployed in Ukraine. Of those, 77,000 were in combat units and the remainder performing defensive functions, he said.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: Putin's remark that Russia may be fighting in Ukraine a long time is the same remark that he made almost 20 years ago when he remarked that Russia may be fighting in Chechnya for a long time. That second Chechen war, and longest, lasted 9 years and it ended with a Russia victory with its Chechen allies. Does that mean this war will last for a couple of years. God ... I hope not!
Putin Says Russia May Be Fighting In Ukraine For A Long Time
Special military operation is lengthy process, but some results already in sight — Putin -- TASS
Ukraine operation could take a long time – Putin -- RT
Putin warns of ‘lengthy’ Ukraine conflict -- AFP
Putin says Ukraine fight is taking longer than expected -- AP
Vladimir Putin says Russia’s war in Ukraine could be ‘long-term process’ -- The Guardian