Putin Says Russia ‘Grinding Down’ Ukraine in Brutal War

Russian President Vladimir Putin said his troops had won the “strategic initiative” all along the front lines of the Ukraine war and that they are “grinding down” Kyiv’s NATO-trained and equipped forces.

“The Russian army has gained and firmly maintains the strategic initiative along the entire front line during the special military operation,” Putin said, originally in Russia, at a high-level defense ministry meeting on Wednesday, the Interfax news agency reported.

Russia calls its war in Ukraine a “special military operation”. Both sides have suffered huge losses of manpower in the war, and it has wrought a terrible toll on civilians caught up in the fighting.

“I would note that the outgoing year has become an important stage in accomplishing the tasks of the special military operation. The Russian army has gained and firmly maintains the strategic initiative along the entire front line,” Putin said.

“Our troops are confidently advancing forward and are ‘grinding down’ the enemy—its groupings and reserves—including so-called elite units and formations that have undergone training in Western military centers and are equipped with modern foreign equipment and weapons.”

This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.