MOSCOW
\nPresident Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that for now he saw no need for an additional mobilization of men to fight in Ukraine but said it all depended on what Russia wanted to achieve there and he asked if Moscow\u2019s forces should try to take Kyiv again.
\n\u201cThere is no such need today,\u201d Putin told a televised meeting of Russian war correspondents and military bloggers when asked about another mobilization after last year declaring what he cast as a \u201cpartial mobilization\u201d of 300,000 reservists.
\nPutin said the defense ministry saw no need for another wave of mobilization.
\n\u201cSome public figures say we need to get 1 million or two million,\u201d Putin said. \u201cIt depends on what we want.\u201d
\n\u201cShould we return there?\u201d Putin said of Kyiv, which Russian troops failed to take in the early stages of what Moscow calls its \u201cspecial military operation\u201d in Ukraine.
\nPutin also said Russia needed to fight enemy agents and improve its defenses against attacks deep inside its own territory but said there was no need to follow Ukraine\u2019s example and declare martial law.
\n\u201cThere is no reason to introduce some kind of special regime or martial law in the country,\u201d Putin said. \u201cThere is no need for such a thing today.\u201d
\nUkraine\u2019s large-scale counter-offensive began on June 4 and has not been successful in any area, Putin said, adding that Ukrainian human losses were 10 times greater than Russia\u2019s.
\nUkraine has lost over 160 of its tanks and 25 percent-30 percent of the vehicles supplied from abroad, he, while Russia had lost 54 tanks.
\nReuters could not independently verify his assertions.
\nPutin also said Ukraine had deliberately hit the Kakhovka dam on June 6 with HIMARS rockets supplied by the United States, a step he said had also hindered Kyiv\u2019s counteroffensive efforts.
\nRussia\u2019s goals in Ukraine might evolve with the situation, but their fundamental character will not change, Putin said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MOSCOW President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that for now he saw no need for an additional mobilization of men to fight in Ukraine but said it all depended on what Russia wanted to achieve there and he asked if Moscow\u2019s forces should try to take Kyiv again. \u201cThere is no such need today,\u201d Putin […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":287673,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-337443","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n