In Moscow's strongest public admission yet that things are not going according to plan, one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest allies indicated on Monday that the military operation in Ukraine was not going as quickly as the Kremlin wanted.
In a speech at a religious ceremony on Sunday, Viktor Zolotov, head of the National Guard, attributed the slow pace to what he said were Ukrainian "extremist right-wing forces hiding behind civilians," reiterating previous accusations made by Russian officials.
Contradiction with Shoigu
As the official, who in previous periods took over Putin's personal security, said, according to "Reuters": Yes, everything is not going as quickly as we would like.
However, he added that the Russian forces are moving towards their goal step by step, stressing that victory will await them, as he put it.
But those comments seemed to contradict an assessment given Friday by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to Putin, stressing that "everything is going according to plan."
According to the table
The Kremlin, as well as the Russian Ministry of Defense, had confirmed several times during the past few days that the operation was proceeding according to its set schedule, after convoys of heavy military vehicles were left for days in the vicinity of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, as well as the continuation of battles in southern cities, which Russian forces besieged without being able to So far from entering it.
While European countries, led by Britain, as well as the United States considered all these indications of the resistance of the Ukrainian forces, which seem to have not provided a way to confront their Russian counterpart.
It is noteworthy that the military operation launched by the Russians on February 24, was described as limited in the Ukrainian east, but it soon reached the vicinity of Kyiv. This prompted widespread European mobilization and unprecedented tension between the West, which supports Ukraine, and Moscow.
It also entailed extensive sanctions on the Russians, exceeding the 5,000 penalties, affecting various sectors, companies, and politicians as well.
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- Agencies