Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a positive assessment of both the progress of the situation on the front and the dialogue that has begun with the United States.
At the forum “Technologies of the Future“ he recalled the capabilities of “Oreshnik“, but spoke more about peaceful developments “on the verge of fiction“. The president introduced additional payments for the injured residents of the Kursk region, and on Defender of the Fatherland Day he said “to the heroes of the Special Military Operation” in the Kremlin that Russians are not ashamed of their ancestors because they defend the Motherland.
“I would be glad to meet Donald, we haven't seen each other for a long time“, Putin told reporters, commenting on the preparations for his meeting with the US president. The Russian president highly appreciated the Russian-American negotiations held in Riyadh: “There is a result“.
Putin expressed surprise at Trump's restraint towards the US's harsh European allies and in a brief conversation with media representatives during a trip to St. Petersburg, he mentioned his American counterpart by name six times and not once Volodymyr Zelensky.
Speaking about the agreement reached to restore the normal work of the Russian and US embassies, Putin noted that otherwise “only cleaners will work in these buildings”. The restoration of cooperation should concern a wide range of areas - space, energy, strategic stability and regional conflicts, including the Middle East.
“There are many issues there, the resolution of which involves both the United States and the Russian Federation, although, of course, we attach paramount importance to the situation related to the Ukrainian direction“, the Russian president explained.
Putin ordered to increase support for the residents of Kursk. “Until the complete liberation of the Kursk region from Ukrainian forces, we will pay all residents of the region who have lost property 65 thousand rubles a month“, the president said at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. By the end of the week, the government had already allocated the necessary funds - the first tranche amounted to 44 billion rubles.
At the Future Technologies Forum on Thursday, Putin noted that “the whole world“ talks about the new product of the Russian defense industry, the Oreshnik missile.
"Just what materials! The temperature of the warheads during the flight of the "Oreshnik" corresponds to the temperature of the Sun," the president said. According to him, it was previously impossible to create such systems due to the lack of suitable materials - the missiles literally melted during flight. .
Putin ordered to protect the interests of Russian companies in the event of the return of foreign brands to the Russian Federation. In Russia, they even "started growing bananas," but this is "too expensive and unnecessary," Putin explained. But in other areas, it is definitely necessary to preserve the potential created by external restrictions.
“Despite all the challenges and difficulties, sanctions have played an important stimulating role for us“, Putin emphasized.
Another promising technological miracle discussed at the forum is underwater gas carriers. Putin said that he did not immediately believe in the possibility of their creation - "Are we going to transport gas on submarines, or what?" But it turns out that it can be profitable. "It's amazing. But this is the future, of course, and quite feasible", Putin concluded.
Putin also spoke about the extraction of rare earth metals in Russia. He noted that Russia has "everything it needs". "We have not yet extracted lithium. But we can do it - it was possible 10-15 years ago.
He recalled how the legacy of the Soviet chemical industry, which once ranked first in Europe, had been largely "squandered."
"It is a shame before those people who devoted their entire lives to creating the chemical industry of the Soviet Union," the president said. According to him, it was necessary to build new enterprises.
On Defender of the Fatherland Day, February 23, Putin made a video address:
"So fate decreed, so God willed: such a difficult but honorable mission fell on our shoulders - to defend Russia," Putin noted. "We are not ashamed before our fathers, before our ancestors. We are fighting for the Motherland and we will do everything to pass it on to future generations, to our children, to our grandchildren“.