Ukraine War, Putin: We Know How This Will End, But It's Not Time to Reveal It Yet

Russian President Vladimir Putin has hinted at his confidence in the direction of the Ukraine conflict’s end, but stressed that now is not the time to reveal it to the public.

The statement was made by Putin during a meeting with representatives from Russian cities, following comments from a local legislative official who said Russia’s victory in the conflict is no longer in doubt.

In that forum, the head of the Nizhny Novgorod city legislative body, Evgeny Chintsov, stated that “no one, including the enemy,” doubts that the conflict will end in Russia’s victory.

Putin responded to the statement with a more cautious attitude, though he did not deny the growing optimism domestically. “Yes, they are just thinking about how to shape everything; we’ll see later,” said Putin, as reported by RT.

He added that armed conflict is not something simple, but full of complexities and risks. “However, military action is always a very complicated and dangerous thing,” he said.

Putin then affirmed that Russia has a picture of how the conflict will end, but chose not to reveal it.

“We know how everything will end, but we will not make any public statements about it,” said Putin.

He emphasised that his government’s main focus is to continue implementing the strategy set from the beginning of the conflict. “We will just strive to achieve the goals we have set,” he said.

Since the start of the military operation in Ukraine, Moscow has stated several main objectives it wants to achieve through the action.

Those objectives include the demilitarisation of Ukraine and what Russia calls the “denazification” of Ukraine. In addition, Russia has emphasised the importance of protecting Russian-language speakers in Ukrainian territory.