A real storm, the Russian president Vladimir Putin made a shocking statement on 12/6/2026, the most characteristic since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine on 24/2/2022.
Putin, after foretelling flattening retaliation in Ukraine, overemphasized that Russia is essentially faced not only with Kyiv, but with the entirety of the military, economic, and technological power of the collective West.
Speaking at a meeting with military personnel participating in the operations in Ukraine, Putin described the current conflict as a historical showdown between Russia and NATO, arguing that Moscow has found itself almost alone against a coalition of states that possess multiple times the economic and military power.
"It is absolutely clear to everyone that Russia is essentially alone against the entire so called collective West, in the form of the well known North Atlantic alliance", the Russian president characteristically stated.
The new reality of the war
Putin gave special emphasis to the nature of modern warfare, stressing that 21st century conflicts are no longer judged solely by the number of soldiers or battle tanks.
Instead, the focus is shifting to technology, production capacity, and the speed of adaptation of defense industries.
"We see before our eyes the high tech character of the armed conflict", Putin noted, underlining that the war in Ukraine functions as a laboratory for new forms of military confrontation.
The drones, satellite systems, electronic surveillance, artificial intelligence, electronic warfare systems, and precision missiles have turned into decisive factors in the field of operations.
According to the Kremlin, the conflict in Ukraine constitutes the first large scale showdown where almost all advanced weapon systems of the West and Russia are being tested under real conditions.
"We are fighting in Ukraine with 700,000 soldiers"
In a statement that captures the true size of the Russian military mobilization, Vladimir Putin revealed that the forces operating in the zone of the special military operation (SVO) have now exceeded 700,000 men.
This specific admission constitutes one of the most revealing reports from the Kremlin about the scale of the war in Ukraine and confirms that the conflict has evolved into one of the largest military showdowns that Europe has known since World War II.
"We have a large force, more than 700,000 people", Putin stated during his meeting with participants in the special military operation on the occasion of Russia Day.
"The war was started by NATO, for eight years we were trying to avoid the conflict"
Vladimir Putin reiterated in a particularly intense manner that the conflict did not start in 2022 but several years earlier, when, as he mentioned, the Ukrainian forces, with the support of NATO, launched military operations against the Russian speaking regions of Donetsk and Lugansk.
"With aviation they were hitting Donetsk. They used artillery and multiple rocket launcher systems. This was war", the Russian president argued, addressing the military personnel participating in the special military operation.
According to Putin, Moscow for eight whole years attempted to find a political solution through the Minsk Agreements, trying to safeguard the rights of the Russian speaking populations of eastern Ukraine.
"We were trying for eight years to convince them to agree peacefully with this part of Ukraine, because Russian people live there", he characteristically reported.
The Russian president also brought back the argument systematically used by the Kremlin in recent years, that the Minsk Agreements were used by Kyiv and its western allies to gain time with the aim of reconstructing and rearming the Ukrainian armed forces.
"They signed the agreements and later publicly admitted that they did it only to give time to the Kyiv regime to rearm and prepare for new hostilities", he argued.
"No one can impose a strategic defeat on Russia"
The Russian president appeared certain that the West failed in its basic strategic goal, which, according to Moscow, was the strategic defeat of the Russian Federation.
"No one has ever managed to impose a strategic defeat on Russia and no one will manage it now", he stated.
Putin attributed this belief to the cohesion of Russian society and the historical resilience of the Russian state.
"Our multinational people understand their responsibility towards future generations. Except for us, no one needs Russia. Only we can protect it", he stressed.
From Napoleon to Hitler, Putin's historical parallels
In an effort to reinforce the message of national rallying, Putin compared the current situation to the two largest invasions that Russia has faced historically.
As he mentioned, it is not the first time that Europe appears united against Moscow.
"Under Napoleon almost the entire Europe fought against Russia. The same happened with Hitler", he stated.
The Russian president reminded that military units from many European countries that had joined the German coalition participated in the battle of Stalingrad.
"Back then too, almost all of Europe was against us. Today we see again a similar attempt to concentrate forces against Russia", he noted.
"We advance every day"
Putin appeared particularly optimistic about the course of operations on the front as well.
As he stated, the Russian forces are advancing daily and are gradually expanding their control to new areas.
"Step by step, maybe not as fast as we would like, but we advance every day. Every day. We are gradually placing under control the territories that we consider our own", he underlined.
The Russian president appeared certain that the strategic goals of Moscow will be fully achieved.
"I have no doubt that we will achieve it", he characteristically said.
"Never fight Russia"
In a turn of phrase with strong symbolism, Putin addressed a message to those he considers adversaries of Russia.
"I have only one advice for our enemies: Never fight Russia. Never try to do it", he stated.
Warning of harsher retaliation
Putin also warned that Russia will continue to strengthen its retaliation capabilities against Ukrainian attacks against Russian targets.
As he mentioned, the capabilities of the Russian defense industry are constantly increasing and this will be directly reflected in the operational power of the armed forces.
"We will continue to respond with greater and greater capabilities. Our capabilities are serious and will increase as long as the defense industry of the Russian Federation develops", he stated.
At the same time, he appeared certain that the Ukrainian attacks will manage neither to split Russian society nor to cause the strategic economic damage that the West seeks.
Russia: We are not fighting only Ukraine
The Russian leadership has reasonably and justly insisted for years that the war is not a bilateral conflict between Moscow and Kyiv.
Instead, it considers that Ukraine functions as the advanced front of a wider confrontation between Russia and NATO.
According to this approach, the Ukrainian armed forces are supported by western weapon systems, information from NATO satellites, training by western military advisors, and economic aid of hundreds of billions of dollars.
Moscow argues that without this support, Ukraine would not be able to continue military operations for such a long period of time.
For Putin, this constitutes proof that Russia is not colliding only with Kyiv, but with an entire geopolitical coalition.
NATO is dangerously escalating the pressure
On the other side, the NATO countries categorically reject the claim that they are in a direct war with Russia.
The western governments argue that the aid to Ukraine has a defensive character and aims at protecting the territorial integrity of the country.
However, the reality is that the military support towards Kyiv has taken unprecedented dimensions.
Patriot systems, HIMARS, Storm Shadow, ATACMS, Leopard, Challenger and Abrams tanks, advanced drones, and huge quantities of ammunition have been channeled into Ukraine since the start of the conflict.
At the same time, Sweden and Finland joined the North Atlantic Alliance, a fact that significantly increased the common borders of Russia and NATO.
For the Kremlin, these developments confirm that the strategy of encircling Russia is in full progress.
The war of attrition
The conflict has now turned into a war of attrition, where the resilience of the economy and industrial production is just as important as the performance in the field of battle.
Russia has turned a large part of its economy into a war machine, spectacularly increasing the production of missiles, drones, armored vehicles, and ammunition.
At the same time, the West attempts to maintain the pressure through sanctions, military aid, and technological restrictions.
Putin considers that the outcome of the war will be judged to a large extent by which side will endure more economically, industrially, and politically.
The Putin message to the West
Behind the statements of the Russian president, a clear political message can be discerned.
Moscow presents the conflict as a battle of survival against a much stronger coalition, reinforcing the sense of national rallying inside the country.
At the same time, the Kremlin wants to highlight that despite the sanctions, the international isolation, and the military support that Ukraine receives, Russia continues to endure and to maintain its operational capacity.
The Putin statements also reflect the belief of the Russian leadership that the conflict has now exceeded the borders of Ukraine and is evolving into a long term geopolitical confrontation between Russia and the West.
The great showdown of the 21st century
For the first time since the end of the Cold War, Europe finds itself faced with a conflict that does not concern only territories or borders.
It is a showdown that touches upon issues of power, technology, energy security, and global geopolitical influence.
When Putin states that Russia finds itself alone against the entire NATO, he is not merely describing a military reality as Moscow sees it.
He is describing the framework within which the Kremlin perceives the war in Ukraine: as the first major conflict between Russia and the collective West since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
And this makes the outcome of the conflict critical not only for Ukraine or Russia, but for the entire international order of things of the coming decades.
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