Putin reveals family's fluency in Chinese amid Ukraine conflict discussion
Vladimir Putin visited the Republic of Tuva before his trip to Mongolia. The leader met with young people there, surprising them with a revelation about his family. "Members of my family, the little ones, speak Chinese fluently," said the leader.
Vladimir Putin appeared on Monday in Kyzyl, in the Republic of Tuva, in southern Russia, where he met with students from local schools. The visit was meant to soften his image and thus had a less formal nature.
During the conversation, Putin unexpectedly broached a topic concerning his own family. The issue was related to the growing interest in Chinese among Russians, partly due to increasing business dependencies. When people communicate with each other to solve specific problems posed by life, there arises a need to learn each other's language, he stated at one point.
The interest in the Russian language is also growing in China. "Members of my family, the little ones, speak Chinese fluently," he revealed.
War at the meeting with Putin
During the visit to Kyzyl, topics related to the war in Ukraine were also discussed. Vladimir Putin referred to the ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Kursk region, calling the nearly month-long operation a "provocation", and concluded that the Ukrainian forces had failed to disrupt Russian offensive actions in the Donetsk region. He also referred to the Ukrainians as "bandits."
He emphasised that the opponent counted on breaking our offensive actions at key front segments in Donbas but did not achieve this goal.
He claimed that Russian forces in eastern Ukraine were advancing at a pace unseen for a long time, capturing areas not by 200-300 metres but whole square kilometres.
As stated by the independent Russian portal Meduza, Putin maintained that Moscow has always advocated for a peaceful settlement (of the war - ed.). Still, he emphasized that the Ukrainian bandits who entered Russian territory must be dealt with. Moreover, he is convinced that this provocation will fail. Then, he said, it would be necessary to move on to peace talks, as they never refused to participate. He also stated that the Ukrainian authorities "are not interested in stopping the fighting."
