Putin called the war "positive", NATO Secretary General: I don't expect the normalization of relations between the West and Russia.

At present, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues.

The Russian Defense Ministry recently issued a war report saying that the Russian army has cracked down on the Ukrainian command system and related energy facilities. In the direction of Kupyansk, Limiman and Donetsk, the Russian army launched several offensives.

The Russian Army's land and air forces and artillery attacked Ukrainian weapons and equipment, including the Hornet air defense missile system, the American M777 artillery and other types of artillery, and an American anti-artillery radar. Russian air defense forces shot down two Ukrainian drones and intercepted several rockets.

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According to the Ukrainian side, Ukrainian troops attacked Russian military personnel concentration areas and air defense system positions, and the fighting in Soledad continued.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the development process of Russia's special military action against Ukraine is positive, and everything is carried out within the plan of the Ministry of National Defense and the General Staff. He also said that Russia's economic situation is stable and far better than expected.

In addition, Putin also said that Russia's industrial production, agriculture and construction industry are also rising. He added, "On the whole, the situation in Russia is not only stable, but also I think it is satisfactory."

Indeed, looking back on 2022, Russia withstood all kinds of pressures, and it was not easy to stabilize the domestic situation with the constant spoiler of the United States and the West.

However, the impact of the war cannot be underestimated. Recently, the website of Russian Viewpoint published an article entitled "Russia's economy will be rebuilt in 2023".

The article points out that at the economic level, 2023 may be more difficult than 2022, and the export volume of Russian natural gas may also decline. Under the basic trend, Russia's GDP will continue to decline in early 2023. In addition, the ruble may not be so strong, and the decline in budget revenue is another challenge in 2023.

However, in response to these problems, the article also expressed optimism that Russia has the ability to meet this challenge. It is estimated that there will be no problem for Russian enterprises to find new customers in 2023. There are all kinds of buyers who want to buy Russian energy, metals and other raw materials, such as India.

Putin data map

As for the budget gap, Russia also has resources to make up for it. As an alternative, the government can continue to expand its debt. Compared with developing and developed countries, Russia is still the country with the lowest public debt burden.

On the other hand, the government can use the money from the national wealth fund to make up the deficit. Another challenge is import substitution.

On the whole, 2023 is indeed a difficult year for Russia.

The strategic intention of the United States and Europe to provide "all-round" support to Ukraine is clear, that is, to delay the Russian-Ukrainian war as much as possible, to impose political isolation, economic sanctions and military threats on Russia, and to use Ukraine as a tool to "contain", "weaken" and "consume" Russia.

In 2023, the United States is bound to fulfill its promise last year to provide Ukraine with Patriot air defense and anti-missile systems. From the initial defensive individual combat weapons, such as stinger air defense missiles and javelin anti-tank missiles, they have been upgraded to offensive weapons with powerful lethality, such as M777 howitzers and hippocampus multi-barrel rockets, resulting in constant casualties among soldiers and civilians.

Russia has also seen all this. The Putin government is well aware of the intentions of the United States and the West, and Russia-US relations have indirectly broken down completely.

Recently, NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg said in an interview that after the end of the Ukrainian conflict, the relations between western countries and Russia will not be normalized. He also pointed out that the West "should not underestimate Russia" and that Russia has "enormous resources".

Regarding Stoltenberg's remarks, Leonid slutsky, Chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian State Duma, commented that it is not the pursuit of western countries to mediate and stop bloody conflicts. Russia will not compromise with its former western allies at the expense of its own interests. "We will achieve all the established goals of' Special Military Action', defend sovereignty and go our own way."

From this point of view, not only US-Russian relations, but also European-Russian relations are difficult to reverse.

However, Europe enjoyed a 30-year peace dividend after the end of the Cold War, and the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict announced that the dividend time has expired, which means that the shadow of the new Cold War will cover Europe for a long time.

Extended reading

What is the origin of the mysterious mercenary "Wagner" group that announced its control of Soledad Russia?

The progress of the war is different.

According to Sputnik news agency & radio, the Russian Ministry of Defense issued an announcement on 13 local time, clarifying some reports about Soledad's combat operations. The announcement said that 12 Russian troops completed their combat mission at night, defeated the Ukrainian defenders and took control of Soledad in Donetsk. It is also said that the soldiers of Wagner Group, a Russian private defense company, completed the attack on the Ukrainian army and took control of Soledad, enabling the Russian army to advance to nearby Bakhmut and cut off the supply line of the Ukrainian army.

On the same day, the Russian Defense Ministry also said that in the past three days alone, more than 700 Ukrainian soldiers and more than 300 pieces of military equipment were destroyed in the Soledad region.

Russian Presidential Press Secretary peskov praised the Russian army's capture of Soledad at the press conference on June 5438+02, calling it a "desperate heroic act".

But the Ukrainian side does not agree with Russia's declared victory. According to the Interfax news agency of Ukraine 13, Reznikov said in an interview with foreign media that Russia was assembling troops and materials in an attempt to launch an offensive in southern and eastern Ukraine. He admitted that Soledad's situation was "very difficult" but "still under control". He also said that the largest salt mine in Europe is located in Soledad, and seizing Soledad may bring economic benefits to Russia.

Who the hell has Soledad? Both sides hold their own words.

Prigozin, founder of Wagner Group, a Russian private defense company, announced the day before that he would "liberate" the eastern Ukrainian town of Soledad. Prigozin said, "I once again confirm that the territory of Soledad has been completely liberated from the Ukrainian army and has been cleaned up."

Earlier, Anna Malyar, deputy defense minister of Ukraine, said that the battle of Soledade was the "most intense and difficult" battle since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. So what is the situation of Soledad and why is it so important? What is the origin of Wagner Group in Russia?

Soledad is the frontier to the strategic location of Bakhmut.

Soledad is known as one of the bloodiest battlefields since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict last February. Some foreign media said that if the Russian statement is true, it will be the first major progress made by the Russian army after suffering setbacks on the battlefield for about half a year.

Russia and Ukraine recently fought fiercely for the control of Soledad, a small town in Wudong. Both sides claimed that the other side suffered heavy losses. Prigozin, head of Wagner Group, a Russian private defense company, said on June 10 that the detachment of Wagner Group had controlled the whole territory of Soledad and released photos of alleged Wagner soldiers entering local salt mines. It is worth mentioning that Soledad salt mine is the largest salt mine in Europe, and occupying it can bring economic benefits to Russia.

Soledad is only a small town with a population of 10,000, but it is only18km away from the strategic town of Bakhmut, which is located in the center of the Bakhmut-Sevsk defense line. The Ukrainian army built strong fortifications here. The capture of Soledad will cut off the direct supply line between Bachmut and Seversk and surround Bachmut from the north. The Ukrainian army hopes to use Bakhmut and Soledad as springboard to counterattack Donetsk, which has been controlled by pro-Russian forces since 20 14.

In fact, Russian and Ukrainian troops have been fighting here for nearly half a year. As early as last August, the Battle of Soledad broke out. Before September last year, Russia occupied most of eastern Leidal. At that time, the Russian army held a number of important strategic fortresses such as kleiman and Hellson. Soredal has not attracted so much attention as it does now.

Mysterious Mercenary: Wagner Group

Russia's private defense company Wagner Group is a mysterious force. Previously, Wagner Group had been stationed in the front line of Donbass, where the fighting was the fiercest. The soldiers of Wagner Group have the best equipment and the neatest clothes of the Russian army. So the soldiers of the regiment have a sense of superiority. They often fight independently and have no contact with Chechen special forces and Donbass militia. Only when the fighting is the fiercest will they appear in the front line.

According to the relevant provisions of the Russian Mercenaries Law, it is a crime to participate in military operations in Russia. 20 18 Russian president Vladimir Putin was asked about this regulation, and Putin replied that the Wagner Group was not within the scope of this regulation and could carry out military operations anytime and anywhere.

According to Agence France-Presse, yevgeny Prigozin, a Russian restaurant oligarch with close ties to the Kremlin, publicly admitted for the first time that he founded Wagner Group in 20 14 and sent refined fighters to Donbass. Prigozin said: "At that time, a patriot group was born on May 20 14 14. It was named Wagner Battalion Tactical Team. Now I admit that these people, these heroes, have defended the Syrian people, the people of other Arab countries and the poor people in Africa and Latin America. They have become the pillars of our Russian motherland. "

Putin and Prigozin

Prigozin runs restaurants and catering enterprises, and Putin often chooses to entertain foreign dignitaries in his restaurants, so he is called "Putin's chef" by the media.

Wagner Group has been established for nearly nine years. Although it is a private organization, the company is not registered with any tax authorities in Russia. Recently, Wagner Group established an online news media. On this video website, there was a job advertisement, which showed that to be a soldier of Wagner Group, one must have good physical fitness, pull himself up with one arm 12 times, and 12 minutes to run 3 kilometers. The age of application ranges from 25 to 60. Yes, even an uncle who is nearly sixty years old, as long as you have excellent physical fitness, you will have the opportunity to become a member of Wagner Group.

According to foreign media reports, the reward given by Wagner Group is 240,000 rubles a month, about 24,000 RMB, and there are bonuses ranging from 6.5438+0.5 million rubles to 700,000 rubles, equivalent to 6.5438+0.5 million to 70,000 RMB. In the event of death, the deceased will pay a maximum of 5 million rubles. In Wagner's clause, there is a clause that consciously refuses state awards, that is, refuses any medals, certificates and medals. In addition, the company promised to make every effort to send the remains of the regiment soldiers back to the motherland, but it can't guarantee that 100% will be successful, and those who try to desert or surrender will be shot immediately.

In the Battle of Donbass Bach Mutt, Wagner Group had more than 50,000 soldiers, which is already the number of heavy group army. The Wagner Group has become a thorn in the side of the Ukrainian army. June, 5438+February last year, a hotel of the group in the Kadiyev area of Lugansk State was attacked by Ukrainian troops, resulting in many deaths.

Recently, high-level Russian troops have constantly changed their front-line command, but the situation has not changed much. Even on New Year's Eve, hundreds of Russian soldiers were killed by "Hippo" rockets. At a time when NATO is constantly providing a large number of more lethal weapons to the Ukrainian military and the United States is already training Ukrainian soldiers for the Patriot anti-missile system, Wagner Group is also considered as one of the important military forces that Russia can rely on.

Author Angelababy is a member of Shenzhen Satellite TV News Live.

Editor Liu Liping, editor-in-chief of Shenzhen Satellite TV Live Room.