Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Ukraine lost more than 70,000 soldiers and hundreds of tanks during the summer offensive, but Kyiv is not interested in peace talks, TASS and Reuters reported.

“Ukraine is conducting a so-called counteroffensive. Of course, there are no results. Now we will not say whether it was a failure or not, but there are no results, but there were losses. Significant losses. Since the beginning of this counteroffensive, losses in personnel amount to 71,500 people,” Putin said.

He added that the Ukrainian army has already lost 543 tanks and almost 18,000 units of armored vehicles of various models, and this number is so large that it is not entirely clear whether it is Ukraine’s losses during the June offensive or since the beginning of the war.

Putin announced this at the Eastern Economic Forum, which is being held in Vladivostok on September 10-13. He is expected to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un soon in this part of the Russian Far East.

Putin made the sweeping comments during his speech at a forum in Vladivostok on Tuesday, also saying that around 1,000 to 1,500 Russians volunteer to join the country’s armed forces every day.

He did so after being asked whether Russia could introduce a new wave of mandatory mobilization, as it did last September. Putin replied that this is not necessary, as over the past 6-7 months, about 270,000 people have signed professional contracts with the army.

Putin says that Ukraine is not interested in peace talks

The Kremlin leader also said on Tuesday that Ukraine would likely be ready to resume peace talks only after it runs out of resources, while saying that Kyiv would use any possible ceasefire to rearm with the help of its Western partners.

“I have the impression that they want to bite off as much as possible [teritoriu] then they can, when their resources are close to zero, achieve a cessation of hostilities and enter into negotiations to renew their resources and regain combat capability.”

Putin also said that numerous international leaders who could act as mediators in the conflict have asked him if Russia is ready to cease hostilities, but that he cannot give such an order when Moscow faces a Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Putin also recalled the decree of President Volodymyr Zelensky, issued last October, which prohibits any negotiations with him personally. The head of the Kremlin said that “we will see” what will happen if Zelensky cancels the decree.

Reuters reports that Russia currently controls 18% of Ukraine’s national territory after withdrawing troops in the second half of last year and making modest gains for the Ukrainian military during the offensive.

The head of the Kremlin claims that Armenia has not turned away from Russia, and laments the fate of Trump

Putin denied suggestions that Russia’s relations with Armenia had deteriorated beyond repair and said Yerevan effectively recognized Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region with the government in Baku.

His comments came after Armenia made unprecedented accusations against Russia in recent months, saying Russian peacekeepers were not fulfilling their mission in Nagorno-Karabakh and that it was a “strategic mistake” to rely solely on Moscow for its security.

Armenia began joint military exercises with the United States this week amid the latest diplomatic spat with Russia.

Speaking on behalf of the United States on Tuesday, Putin said the various lawsuits against former President Donald Trump were politically motivated and showed the “rottenness” of the American political system.

“Everything that’s happening with Trump is politically motivated harassment of a competitor, that’s what it’s all about. And this is happening in front of the public of the United States and the whole world,” he said, adding that Americans “cannot claim to teach others about democracy.”

Vladimir Putin again rejected as “complete nonsense” claims that Trump has a special relationship with him or Russia.

The head of the Kremlin also praised the South African billionaire Elon Musk, whom he called an “outstanding person” and an “active and talented” businessman.

A history lesson from the President of Russia

Putin also made an unusual appearance at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, saying the Soviet Union’s decision to send tanks into Hungary and Czechoslovakia to quell mass protests during the Cold War was wrong.

“It was a mistake,” Putin admitted when asked about the perception of Russia as a colonial power due to Moscow’s decision to send tanks to Budapest in 1956 and Prague in 1968.

“It is wrong to do something in foreign policy that harms the interests of other nations,” said Putin, who sent tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine in 2022, provoking Europe’s biggest ground war since World War II.

But Putin added that the United States is making the same mistakes as the Soviet Union. He said that Washington “has no friends, only interests.”

The Hungarian uprising of 1956 was suppressed by Soviet tanks and troops. At least 2,600 Hungarians and 600 Soviet soldiers died in the fighting.

The Prague Spring of 1968 ended when Soviet-led Warsaw Pact forces, excluding Romania, invaded the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. According to Czech historians, 137 Czechs and Slovaks died as a result of the invasion.

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