- Russian President Vladimir Putin conceded that Russia needed more modern weapons.
- He'd previously boasted of the sophistication of Russia's arsenal.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has admitted that the Russian military needs to modernize its weapons if it is to win the war in Ukraine.
In a statement posted on the Kremlin website Friday, Putin said that the Ukrainian offensive had begun and Russian forces were successfully resisting it.
He said that this was due to the "the right command of the troops and the high effectiveness of Russian weapons, especially modern weapons."
He then conceded that Russia needed to increase its supply of modern weapons, a significant remark in the light of reports that Russian troops on the front line were using outdated, Soviet-era equipment.
"We do not yet have enough modern arms, but the defense industry and the military-industrial complex are developing rapidly and, I am sure, all the challenges facing our defense industry will definitely be met. We are intensively building up production of modern weapons," Putin said.
Putin's concession is a sharp departure from his previous remarks on Russia's military arsenal, with the Russian president last August boasting that they were "years, perhaps even decades" ahead of rivals.
The claim was contradicted by analyses by Western officials, Insider reported in April, who said that amid heavy losses of troops and equipment, Russia has resorted to using Soviet-era tanks and other weapons.
Ukraine said it had liberated three villages in the south-east of the country as part of its counteroffensive. It accused Russia of blowing up the Kakhovka dam last Monday to slow its advances, forcing Ukraine to evacuate thousands of civilians.
Ukraine has been handed sophisticated weapons by its NATO allies, including US-made HIMARS missiles, and German-made Leopard tanks, but on some fronts Ukrainian forces are reportedly using dilapidated weapons.
According to Russian state media guidelines on covering the counteroffensive recently obtained by Russian independent media outlet Meduza, publications were instructed to talk up Ukraine's weapons advantages, so Russia could portray itself as an underdog and positively spin even modest successes.
Analysts told the Associated Press in a report published Monday that Russia had learnt from its mistakes, and had improved its weaponry in Ukraine.