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Ukraine war: Putin says there will be no more major strikes - for now


Mr Putin said he did not regret the attack, although the current situation was "not pleasant".


Russian President Vladimir Putin has said there was no need for further major attacks on Ukraine, days after the country's heaviest bombings since the war began.


He said most of the specified targets of the attacks had been hit, adding that it was not his aim to destroy Ukraine.


He said Moscow's target of mobilizing three lakh people would be met within two weeks.


It comes about eight months after the invasion when Russian forces mostly retreat and Ukraine advances.


Speaking to reporters after a summit with regional leaders in Kazakhstan's capital Astana, the Russian leader said that the recent attacks had destroyed 22 of the 29 targets set by the military in Ukraine and the remaining seven "they could not find". Used to be".


"There is no need for a massive strike. Now we have other tasks," he said.


From Monday, Russia launched a wave of attacks on cities across Ukraine, in what Mr Putin said was retaliation for an explosion that damaged a vital bridge between Russia and Crimea.


Dozens were killed and injured in the attacks, which also damaged infrastructure. The central regions of Kyiv were targeted for the first time since the invasion.


But Mr Putin said Russia did not intend to destroy Ukraine, but did not regret the invasion.


"What is happening today is not pleasant, take things lightly," he said. "But still, [if Russia hadn't attacked] we would have been in the same position, only worse for us. That's why we're doing everything right and at the right time."


President Putin said 220,000 people had been mobilized, of whom 16,000 were already at war. They saw no need for additional mobilization, he said.


The call-up, however, has caused widespread discontent in Russia, with tens of thousands of men fleeing to neighboring countries. The BBC has also found evidence that the level of training before such recruits or recruits are sent to the front is poor.


Meanwhile, the BBC Russian Service says it has identified more than 7,500 Russian service personnel who have died in the Ukraine war. The actual level of casualties is thought to be much higher, and there are reports that some of the recently mobilized soldiers have been killed.


• What does Russia's military contingent mean for Ukraine?


• Who is Putin's arch new commander in Ukraine?


• Ukraine in maps: where have Russian missiles hit?


Addressing relations with other former Soviet countries, Mr Putin stressed that the war had not affected his "character and depth".


He said that it is natural for some countries to be concerned but he is informing them in detail.


But analysts say Russia's influence in the region is waning, as leaders such as Kazakhstan's Kassym-Jomart Tokayev try to distance Putin over the war.




In other developments on Friday:


• The Russian government says an important bridge connecting Crimea to Russia, which was damaged in an explosion last Saturday, should be repaired by July next year


• Ukrainian officials are urging the Red Cross to visit the infamous Olenivka prison in the Russian-occupied east within three days


• Elon Musk has said that his rocket company SpaceX cannot continue indefinitely to fund Starlink internet service in Ukraine - now seen as critical to the country's communications infrastructure - amid reports he has The Defense Department has been asked to do so.


• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has supported the Russian proposal to set up a gas hub in Turkey to supply Europe.


• A UK intelligence report said Russian forces from the private military company Wagner Group have captured two villages in the Donetsk region, in their first successful advance in three months to the region.

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