Ukraine: President Putin Remains Praises Russian Armed Forces, Ready To Offer Advanced Weapons To Allies

Presiden Rusia Vladimir Putin. (Wikimedia Commons/The Presidential Press and Information Office)

JAKARTA - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday Moscow is ready to sell advanced weapons to allies globally and cooperate in developing military technology, as its military faces severe resistance in Ukraine.

Pushed back from two of Ukraine's largest cities and making slow progress, at great cost in the east of the country, the war has so far not proved to be a convincing show for Russia's arms industry.

However, President Putin, speaking at the Army-2022 International Military Technical Forum in Kubinka, Moscow, insisted Russia's arsenal was years ahead of the competition.

Russia values strong ties to Latin America, Asia and Africa, "and is ready to offer partners and allies the most modern types of weapons, from small arms to armored and artillery vehicles, combat aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles," he said.

"Almost all of them have been used more than once in real combat operations," Putin said.

He said Russia could offer new models and systems. "We are talking about high-precision weapons and robotics, about combat systems based on new physical principles."

"Many of them are years, or maybe decades ahead of their foreign counterparts, and in terms of tactical and technical characteristics they are significantly superior to them," he explained.

Separately, Western military analysts assess what they perceive as the poor performance of Russian troops and weapons in Ukraine, could make Moscow's arms exports less attractive to potential buyers.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has used US-supplied weaponry effectively, notably the advanced HIMARS rocket system, with Russia taking a series of major blows, including the destruction of an air base on the Crimean peninsula that Russia annexed last week.

Nevertheless, President Putin said Russian troops and their proxies in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine were fulfilling all their duties.

"Step by step they are liberating the land of Donbas," he said.

"I want to emphasize, Russia stands for the development of the widest comprehensive military-technical cooperation. Today in the conditions of trust in the emerging multipolar world, this is very important," Putin said.

"We really appreciate the fact that our country has many like-minded allies and partners on different continents. These are countries that don't succumb to the so-called hegemons, their leaders show a real masculine character and don't stoop," he concluded.