Putin Tells Arms Industry to Manufacture Better Weapons for Ukraine War: Russian President Vladimir Putin told the nation’s defense industry chiefs that they must do more to ensure that the Russian military has access to weapons, ammunition, and other military hardware in a more timely manner.
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The Russian president made the comments during a visit to Tula, a Russian city home to some of the nation’s top arms manufacturing companies.
“The most important key task for our military-industrial complex is to provide our units and frontline forces with everything they need: weapons, equipment, ammunition, and gear in the necessary quantities and of the right quality in the shortest possible timeframes,” the Russian president said.
Video footage of Putin’s trip to the city was also shared online, showing the Russian president checking newly-manufactured equipment that will be deployed to Ukraine.
At one point in the clip, the president climbs up a short step ladder to analyze a new tank.
During the press conference that followed his trip, Putin also said that it is essential for the nation’s arms manufacturers to “perfect and significantly improve the technical characteristics of weapons and equipment for our fighters based on the combat experience we have gained.”
While the Russian president didn’t admit or acknowledge the fact that his soldiers have become dependent on supplies of decades-old ammunition, his comments effectively confirmed that Russia is unable to provide soldiers with modern, advanced weaponry and ammunition.
Ukraine Wants Iran to Stop Helping Russia
While Putin tells domestic arms manufacturers to step up their game, Iran continues to supply Russia with drones and missiles.
On Saturday, Mykhailo Podolyak, the senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, called for the “liquidation” of Iranian factories that continue to supply weapons to Russia.
Podolyak also called for the “arrest of suppliers” of arms to Russia.
In a tweet, Podolyak accused Tehran of planning to increase the number of drones and missiles it supplies to Russia, despite a range of international sanctions placed on companies found to be assisting with the transfer of weapons to Russia.
Podoylak said that the West should “abandon nonworking sanctions” and “move to more destructive tools.”
The head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency also warned of Iran’s plans to deliver more weapons to Russia. Speaking to employees at the residence of the Israeli president in Jerusalem, Mossad chief David Barnea warned of “Iran’s future and intentions, which it is trying to keep secret.”
Barnea claimed that Tehran is actively working to “deepen and expand the supply of advanced weapons to Russia.”
Jack Buckby is 19FortyFive’s Breaking News Editor. He is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.