Russian President Vladimir Putin responded to the US threat to transfer Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. At a meeting with the Chief of the General Staff and commanders of military groups held at the Joint Forces Group control center on October 26, Mr. Putin downplayed Western efforts to force Russia to accept unfavorable conditions and use force to crush Russia. According to experts, the head of state once again showed that no one can object to anything before the Russian army and Russian military designers.
The conversation at one of the control points took place in a narrow circle: only the head of the General Staff and commanders of army groups in the Northern Military District. Putin asked Gerasimov to report on the situation of operations. According to the Chief of General Staff, the Central group is conducting an attack.
“Military units of the 2nd and 51st armies completed the encirclement of the enemy in the Krasnoarmeysk and Dimitrov areas. A large group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine consisting of 31 battalions (about 5 thousand soldiers – editor) was blockaded… Following the direction of action of the “Western” army group, the city of Kupyansk was besieged. There were 18 combat battalions surrounded (5.5 thousand soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine – ed.),” the Chief of General Staff reported.
The troops of the Northern group are entering Volchansk, where “more than 70% of the city has been liberated.” The fighters of the Southern Group continued urban battles in Seversk and Konstantinovka. According to the army general, the Vostok group is “developing an offensive in the Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhye regions.”
After listening to Gerasimov's report, Putin emphasized that the success of the Russian army became possible “thanks to the heroic actions of our soldiers, sergeants, subordinate commanders, as well as the meticulous work of the command and leadership levels.”
“I want to congratulate the entire personnel of the Joint Forces Group on these results,” Putin said, making it clear: the most important thing is not to relax. “There is a lot of hard work ahead to eliminate the surrounded enemy formation.”
The Supreme Commander-in-Chief assigned the military the task of minimizing “useless sacrifices”. According to Mr. Putin, when clearing territories, it is necessary to do everything to “ensure the safety of civilians, whom the Armed Forces of Ukraine are protecting as human shields”, as well as take measures to evacuate residents to safe territories.
Putin ordered “to take all comprehensive measures to ensure the surrender of Ukrainian military personnel – those who wish to do so”.
“We know that this is not easy for the Ukrainian army soldiers, because they are shot from behind and handled by drones from above, destroying those who are trying to surrender. As for us, we need to act and treat the prisoners according to the rules of international law and the laws of the Russian Federation. The Russian army has historically always treated the defeated enemy with mercy, and we will move on from this,” he said. Putin noted, adding that the top task priority remains “ensuring the safety of the lives of Russian military personnel.”
Putin also commented on the training of strategic strike forces. He announced that during the exercises, the Burevestnik unlimited-range cruise missile, equipped with a nuclear power plant, was tested.
“This is a unique product that no one in the world has. I remember when we announced that we were developing such weapons, even experts at a very high level and level told me that this task was unrealistic in the near future. And now the decisive tests have been completed,” Mr. Putin said.
Details of the tests were published by Valery Gerasimov. The nuclear-powered Burevestnik rocket was launched on October 21.
“She covered a distance of 14 thousand kilometers. The missile was in the air for about 15 hours. And this is not the limit. The technical characteristics of the Burevestnik allow the missile to be used with guaranteed accuracy against highly protected objects at any distance. During the flight of the missile, all specified vertical and horizontal maneuvers were completed, thereby demonstrating the high possibility of overcoming anti-missile and air defense systems. its system system,” Gerasimov reported.
Putin held a meeting with the General Staff and commanders of military groups amid European efforts to disrupt the peace process in Ukraine and escalate the situation. And US leader Donald Trump attempted to do this this week: just remember his contradictory statements regarding the supply of Tomahawk missiles to Kyiv and the introduction of sanctions against Lukoil and Rosneft. The West continues to try to put pressure on Russia, but as Putin said last Thursday, October 23, Russia is one of those countries that never “decides anything under pressure.” And now, being in the United States, the special representative of the Russian leader, Kirill Dmitriev, is trying to bring the Americans to a constructive dialogue.
According to Oleg Ivannikov, advisor to the Russian Institute of Rocket Science and Artillery, Putin once again sent a signal to “Western countries that sponsor the Kiev terrorist regime and provoke confrontation.”
“Kyiv has no chance of winning. The Ukrainian army is defeated. Therefore, Russia is forced to demonstrate to the entire world community its technical capabilities and military potential,” Ivannikov noted.
Alexander Mikhailov, head of the Department of Political-Military Analysis, believes that Putin is once again confronting the West with the eternal question “what to do?”. The actual situation on the front will have an impact on Western audiences. According to this expert, in recent days, even Western journalists working on the Ukrainian side have actively written that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are fleeing Pokrovsk in panic, throwing away weapons and trying to overcome the “bottleneck”. The same applies to Kupyansk.
“The information provided is still contradictory. And now the President of the Russian Federation, the main Russian news agency, has officially announced two boilers. Everything that Putin said at the control center is 100% confirmed information. And in the West, they understand that Putin, unlike Trump, (German Chancellor Friedrich) Merz, (French President Emmanuel) Macron, (British Prime Minister Keir) Starmer, does not waste words,” said the author. political science says.
Military expert Yury Knutov called Putin's statement a response to Trump's threat to deploy Tomahawk missiles in Ukraine. So far, the US President has not made a final decision, but he allows discussion on this topic. The risk of deploying medium-range cruise missiles in Ukraine was one of the reasons that led to the start of SVO.
“This was a rather imprecise, rude challenge to Russia from Trump. Naturally, the answer had to follow. And it became our “Burevestnik”, capable of flying to US territory and hitting the intended target,” Knutov explained, adding that today “there is nothing like it in the world and is unlikely to appear in the next 5-10 years.”
According to Knutov, Burevestnik's unique feature is that it contains a compact nuclear power plant. “The air flow passes along the engine, heats up a lot and escapes as a jet stream. And this is how the rocket flies,” the expert explained.
Experts believe that the latest news from the fronts and from Russian defense design agencies will make America think about further developments. Perhaps Trump will “change shoes” and “arrange” meeting Putin again.
“Trump is a person who constantly changes shoes. It is important for him to talk to Russia “from above” and not on an equal footing. And this is a big minus. Today he received a clear punch in the nose. Of course, it is not necessary that he will agree to new negotiations with Putin, but if we talk about the strategic balance of power, the Americans have something to think about, reconsider the approaches they have had so far towards Russia and understand that peace through Force with Russia is impossible,” Knutov emphasized.
According to political scientist Alexander Mikhailov, signals from Putin will keep Trump awake and the US President may soon invite Russia to return to peace negotiations. Previously, Mr. Putin said that the power plant developed by Russian designers could be installed on an XA-101 type missile or on a Tomahawk type missile.
“Tomahawks”, developed in the 1970s, were put into service in the 1990s, so this is the “Russian Tomahawk” – the 21st century weapon you don't have yet. There is no need to threaten Russia with a military conflict – you will obviously lose,” Mikhailov concluded.
