Four and a half years into the war in Ukraine, as the casualty total on the Russian side has now reached 1.4 million, Russian President Vladimir Putin is urging the Russian people to keep up the fight.
According to United 24 Media, which cited a Russian-language report by the Moscow Times, Putin spoke to Navy servicemen at the Admiralty in St. Petersburg on Russia’s Navy Day. He declared in his remarks that Russia must “imbue the consciousness of our society… with the importance of the cause.”
T-90M Russian Army. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
T-90 Tank from Ukraine War. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
“Putin repeated his longstanding claim that Russia had not started the war and had merely responded to hostilities conducted by Kyiv with Western backing,” the United 24 Media report said. “He claimed Russian forces were now restoring what he portrayed as the region’s historical alignment with Russia.”
Zelensky’s View
Meanwhile, Newsweek reported on a statement from Ukraine’s President Zelensky that Putin is preparing to mobilize 500,000 Russians.
In an interview with Sky News, Zelensky said that he “believes that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is preparing to mobilize soldiers in their hundreds of thousands and to send them to the front, conceding this would be a significant danger to Ukraine.”
“What we tried to do is also make this a challenge for Russians; otherwise, they will not feel that the war is everywhere,” the Ukrainian president told Sky News.
“That’s why we started to do everything to respond and to bring this war back to Russia, where it came to us… and that’s why we started our mid-strikes and deep-strike operations, just to respond.”
Zelensky was also asked if the Ukrainian people will ever get over the “trauma” of the last four and a half years of war.
“I don’t know, we have to do it, we have to think more about veterans, about you know hundreds of thousands of people who will come back home, and this is a big challenge,” the Ukrainian president said.
“Of course it’s difficult to do it ourselves, but we will do it, I mean it’s only ourselves. But the resilience of people, they surprised everybody in the world… People are very strong, very strong, but of course, tired, [it’s a] long war.”
The View From Kazakhstan
Meanwhile, another Moscow News report stated that the president of Kazakhstan has called for a “freeze” of the war, one delivered in an interesting venue.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev delivered the speech while speaking alongside Putin on Saturday at the Russia-Kazakhstan forum in the Siberian city of Omsk.
“If I may offer my humble opinion, since I have been asked, perhaps it is time to freeze this conflict and return to the Istanbul formula 2.0,” the Kazakh leader said, referencing the failed diplomatic talks that took place earlier this year.
“With [security] guarantees from the great powers, including Russia, we could move forward toward a long-awaited peace,” Tokayev added, per Moscow News. “This must be brought to an end.”
The Kazakh leader also lamented the heavy loss of life in the conflict.
“No one knows how to resolve this situation because both sides have their own positions. It is a shame; young people are dying,” Tokayev said at the forum, with the Russian president present.
Ukraine, per Euro News, responded to the call from Kazakhstan’s leader.
“We appreciate President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev telling Putin it is time to stop the war. A realistic, timely, and wise message,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a social media post responding to the remarks from Tokayev.
“Ukraine has proposed stopping the war along current frontlines and turning to diplomacy, but the Kremlin continues to reject this clear path to peace,” he added.
“Putin’s spokesman has already dismissed the Kazakh President’s proposal as well,” the foreign minister added.
“The bottom line: Moscow must feel more pressure before it accepts realistic peace proposals.”
Indeed, per the Euro News story, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has rejected the ceasefire call.
“Tokayev has repeatedly spoken about the issue of Ukraine. He has a consistent position. This does not mean that we agree. But Kazakhstan is our closest partner and our closest ally,” Peskov said of the proposal to “freeze” the war.
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
