Putin denies reports of impending mobilisation and vows response to Zelensky's airspace plan
Speaking at a press conference during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek on Tuesday, Vladimir Putin said that media reports of a coming wave of mobilisation in Russia are “complete nonsense” and part of an “information attack”.
He also responded to Volodymyr Zelensky's earlier statement about drones in Russia, in which the Ukrainian president called on airlines to adjust to the fact that “there will simply be drones in Russia's airspace” and that its skies will “de facto be closed”. Putin called this “a bid for state terrorism” and warned that Russia “will find a way to respond”.
Putin made a number of other claims during the roughly hour-long speech, including that:
- Talks between Russia and Ukraine on ending the war are “effectively frozen”, and that Russia doesn't want to freeze the war but to end it and secure a lasting peace.
- Russia has repaired all but 10% of the oil refineries damaged in Ukrainian strikes.
- His decree on protecting critical infrastructure facilities, which gives the government the right to impose temporary administration at such sites, does not amount to nationalisation.
- Total damage from Ukraine's campaign against civilian shipping in the Black and Azov Seas amounts to roughly 1% of Russia’s GDP.
- Russia does not strike Ukraine's leadership because “we need some people around to settle issues with”.
- Any military facility in Ukraine — British or otherwise — is a “legitimate target” for Russian forces.
- US presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner remain “welcome guests” in Russia.
- Germany's accusation that Russia planned a drone attack on Leipzig Airport is baseless and stems from Germany's own tangled domestic politics.