Putin allies eye prolonged conflict in Ukraine

President Vladimir Putin’s top allies said Tuesday that Moscow was prepared for a protracted conflict in Ukraine to achieve the Kremlin’s goals in the pro-Western country.

The fighting, which entered its fourth month on Tuesday, has killed thousands of people, displaced over eight million people, and forced over six million refugees to flee across borders.

“We will continue the special military operation until all the objectives have been achieved, regardless of the massive Western aid to the Kyiv regime and the sanctions against Russia,” Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told regional counterparts from the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization.

He added that Moscow’s efforts to avoid civilian casualties “are of course slowing down the pace of the offensive, but this is deliberate”.

Separately, the secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, said that Moscow’s offensive would last as long as necessary.

“We are not rushing to meet deadlines,” Patrushev told the Russian newspaper Argumenty i Fakty in an interview published on Tuesday.

“All the goals set by the President of Russia will be fulfilled,” Patrushev added.

“It cannot be otherwise, because the truth, including historical truth, is on our side.”

Putin sent troops to Ukraine to “de-militarise” and “de-nazify” pro-Western Ukraine.

Russia is believed to have suffered significant human and material losses in Ukraine, though the Kremlin has not provided specifics.

Western assistance has helped Ukraine fend off its neighbor’s advances in a variety of areas, including the capital of Kyiv. Russia is now concentrating its efforts on consolidating and expanding its gains in Donbas and along the southern coast.