Putin’s spokesman said goals of Ukraine invasion ‘partially achieved’ but far from complete

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with Bosnian and Herzegovinian TV channel ATV Wednesday that the goals Russia set when launching its “special military operation” have been “partially achieved” but that the tasks “related to the protection of Donbas residents” are far from being completed.

On the topic of why Moscow hasn’t made significant gains on the battlefield, Peskov said the reason is that Russia isn’t engaging in warfare. “Waging war is a completely different thing. It entails total destruction of infrastructure, complete destruction of cities. We’re not doing that,” he told journalists.

Regarding the city of Bakhmut, which Russian Defense Ministry forces and Wagner Group mercenaries have been trying to capture for months, Peskov said that “emotions are running high” and called the city a “very strong fortified area.”

The Kremlin press secretary also appeared to allude to the ongoing conflict between Wagner Group founder Evgeny Prigozhin and the leadership of Russia’s Defense Ministry, which Prigozhin has publicly berated for allegedly refusing to provide him with the ammunition he needs.

“I’m not going to name any names, but I will say that regardless of what they say and what statements they make, these are all the armed forces of Russia. These are all Russian forces. These forces are pursuing the same goal,” Peskov said.