- Category
- Latest news
Putin Calls Invasion of Ukraine “Right,” Portrays Mass Destructions as “Liberation”
- Authors
![Photo of Roman Kohanets]( "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
-111f0e5095e02c02446ffed57bfb0ab1.jpeg "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
Russian leader Vladimir Putin defended the decision to launch the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, calling it “right and timely,” and asserted that Russian forces “fully hold the strategic initiative,” while claiming almost 4,900 square kilometers and 212 settlements were “liberated” in 2025.
The remarks were delivered at a meeting with senior military commanders near St. Petersburg on October 7, according to a Kremlin transcript and Russian state media summaries.
“At this time, the Russian armed forces fully hold the strategic initiative,” Putin said, adding: “This year, we have liberated nearly 5,000 square km of territory—4,900—and 212 localities.” He also argued that the “decisions made in February 2022 were correct and timely.”
-7b3bcf6c7eee4cecabb73b381729aabd.jpg)
Putin framed the war’s objectives as unchanged since 2022, repeating the Kremlin’s stated aims as “demilitarisation and denazification” of Ukraine, and alleged that Ukrainian troops were retreating “in all sectors of the front.”
His top general, Valery Gerasimov, told the same meeting that Russian forces were “advancing in practically all directions,” citing pressure near Pokrovsk, Siversk, Kostyantynivka and Kupiansk, and efforts to establish “buffer zones” in Ukraine’s Sumy and Kharkiv regions.
Putin also tied his defense of the invasion to the Kremlin-run “referendums” staged in occupied Ukrainian regions in 2022, describing residents as having “overwhelmingly” voted to join Russia—events widely rejected by Kyiv and Western governments as illegal.
While Moscow highlighted the seizure of additional villages this week, Ukrainian officials say Russia has not taken a major Ukrainian city in 2025 and report localized counterattacks around Dobropillia and in border areas of Sumy region.
ISW’s October 7 operational update emphasizes heavy Russian losses on several axes and assesses that Russia’s casualty rates have been high relative to limited territorial change.
Earlier, it was reported that the Institute for the Study of War assessed the Kremlin was overstating battlefield achievements, noting that Valery Gerasimov claimed Russian forces had seized 3,500 square kilometers and captured 149 settlements since March.
-7f54d6f9a1e9b10de9b3e7ee663a18d9.png)
