All measures for Russia's partial mobilization will be completed within two weeks, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a press conference following a visit to Astana, Kazakhstan on Friday.
Putin said that 222,000 out of the planned 300,000 people had already been successfully mobilized, and there were no proposals from the Ministry of Defense to increase the number beyond the initial 300,000.
The Russian President explained that the length of the line of contact with Ukraine exceeds a thousand kilometers, and it is impossible to protect it only by "contract" soldiers. Therefore, "it was necessary to declare a partial mobilization."
When asked about the little to no training that some conscripts receive, as one reporter gave an example of a Moscow resident that was killed after "receiving no training and being sent straight to combat," Putin stated that the training is indeed short, and in some cases consists of under two weeks of training in total.
When asked if he had regrets about the conflict in Ukraine, Putin simply said "no," and claimed that Russia "was doing the right thing."
A week after Russia has staged its heaviest missile attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities since the start of its invasion, an action that Putin has said was retaliation for an attack that damaged a Russian bridge to occupied Crimea, He said there was "no need for massive strikes" now because most designated targets had been hit.
"We do not set ourselves the task of destroying Ukraine. No, of course not," Putin said.
Putin claims Germany is "making a mistake"
Putin said that Germany had not yet made a decision regarding the one undamaged line of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, through which he has said it would be possible for Russia to pump gas to Germany.
He said any such decision was not Russia's business, further claiming that Germany is making a "mistake" by prioritizing its allegiance to NATO over its national interest.
Will there be a meeting with Biden at the G20?
Putin noted that the issue of his personal participation in the G20 summit has not yet been resolved.
Speaking about the possibility of meeting with US President Joe Biden, if the trip takes place, the Russian leader indicated that there is no platform for such a conversation.
The President stressed that there is no talk of direct talks with any of the G20 leaders yet, but Moscow is in constant contact with some of them.