Vladimir Putin visited the National Defence Control Centre where he took part in an annual expanded meeting of the Defence Ministry Board.
December 21, 2020
13:30
Moscow
At the expanded meeting of the Defence Ministry Board.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Comrade officers,
As custom has it, during this expanded meeting of the Defence Ministry Board today, we will analyse the performance of the Defence Ministry in 2020 and identify priorities for the further development of the Armed Forces.
This year has been challenging for everybody. As you know, the world has faced the coronavirus pandemic. One would think that it is high time for state leaders and the entire global community to show utmost responsibility and join efforts. But unfortunately, that has not always been the case. We have seen new regional conflicts break out and old, years-long conflicts escalate. Attempts have been made to undermine global stability.
I would like to stress that in these difficult and essentially unprecedented circumstances, the Defence Ministry and divisions of the Army and the Navy have performed their tasks in a professional and efficient manner. I am talking about combat alert duty, military training, conscription and, of course, the re-equipment of the Armed Forces, which is the key task.
I spoke to Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov last night and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu this morning about this work and how it was done in our country in the past. It is really something worth knowing. In the Soviet Union, the share of modern equipment in the Soviet Army’s general-purpose forces was 54 percent, and in the strategic and nuclear forces 65 to 70 percent. That is a pretty good number. In 2000, the share of modern equipment in the general-purpose forces dropped to a critically low of 12 percent, and in the nuclear deterrence forces to 35 percent. I remember very well my first conversations on the issue with then Defence Minister Igor Sergeyev. He was a very decent person and a high-calibre missile expert. He told me: “What can I do? We do not even have enough money to maintain the nuclear forces.” What about now? As of mid-December 2020, the share of modern weapons and equipment in the Russian military is over 70 percent for the general-purpose forces and 86 percent for the nuclear forces.
Therefore, our Army and, most importantly, our nuclear triad have reached the level that guarantees Russia’s security.
There is something I really need to underscore. It is absolutely unacceptable to stand idle. The pace of change in all areas that are critical for the Armed Forces is unusually fast today. It is not even Formula 1 fast – it is supersonic fast. You stop for one second and you start falling behind immediately.
Therefore, as soon as in 2021, in our nuclear deterrent forces, we must reach a level of 88.3 percent of modern weapons. We know exactly what needs to be done and for which weapons. As for our general-purpose forces, they should reach a level of 75.9 percent by 2024, that is, almost 76 percent.
This year, our troops have shown high combat readiness and the ability to effectively fulfill complex and non-standard tasks in more than 5,700 exercises and drills at various levels, including the large-scale Caucasus-2020 exercise involving military contingents from five other countries.
Our service members are acting responsibly and courageously in Syria. In fact, their daily work is the most important stability factor in that country and in the entire region.
On November 10, Russian peacekeepers embarked on a very difficult mission in Nagorno-Karabakh. Their presence is now a guarantee of the parties’ compliance with the agreements on the cessation of hostilities. They are also doing a lot to improve the humanitarian situation and help refugees, to de-mine the area and rebuild social infrastructure, as well as to preserve the local cultural, historical and religious landmarks.
Unfortunately, they risk themselves not without losses; they risk their lives so that a peaceful life would return to this land.
Comrade officers,
All of us – the country's government and citizens – are grateful to the Russian Army for its invaluable contribution to the common fight against the coronavirus infection, something I mentioned at the beginning, for the help that was so timely and effective, tangible.
With the recently opened medical centre in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, in nine months, the Ministry of Defence has quickly built 30 medical centres for patients with this dangerous infection. Eight mobile hospitals have been deployed in the regions with particularly challenging situation. I know that those specialists, military builders worked as if in combat conditions, and acted according to wartime or front-line laws, when an assigned task has to be completed at all costs, no matter what.
I should add that since the beginning of the epidemic, military medical organisations have accepted almost 37,000 coronavirus patients for inpatient treatment, including around 13,000 civilians. Military doctors, mid-level and junior medical staff (over 18,000 medical workers) not only did everything they could to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the Army and the Navy but also helped their colleagues working in civilian healthcare, including as members of mobile teams. They have been performing their duties with professionalism, discipline and extreme dedication. They have spared no effort and often worked overtime to help people in distress. As is always the case, these examples prove the common Russian saying: “Our people and army are united.” We can see that these are not just empty words.
Once again, I would like to say a huge thank you to military and civilian construction workers for their fast and high quality work on the construction of new medical centres. I want to thank all representatives of the military medical service for their courage and selflessness in combating the epidemic.
I would like to note that, despite the difficult epidemiologic situation, a military parade was held on Red Square and in 27 cities to mark the 75th anniversary of the Great Victory. The Main Cathedral of the Armed Forces and the Road of Memory Museum Complex were opened. Many other campaigns to commemorate this significant date were held in the online format.
Comrade officers,
As I said, the military and political situation in the world remains complicated. There are high risks of escalation in the South Caucasus, the Middle East, Africa and other regions. NATO’s military activity persists. Unfortunately, the arms control system continues to deteriorate. Under contrived pretexts, the United States has already withdrawn from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, the INF Treaty and the Open Skies Treaty. There is uncertainty with regard to the New START which, as you know, will expire in February 2021. We have repeatedly stated our readiness to extend the treaty but there has been no response.
Needless to say, we are analysing the current geostrategic, military and political situation in detail and predicting possible scenarios for future developments.
State defence planning for the next five years was completed in 2020. We took all the existing and potential threats to Russian security into account as well as the growing combat capabilities of our Army and Navy.
The main conclusion is obvious. We will continue to work actively on the qualitative development of the Armed Forces, enhancing their combat readiness and efficiency. I have just spoken about this, at the beginning.
In this context, I am instructing you to focus on the following key tasks.
First, it is necessary to maintain our nuclear weapons in high combat readiness and develop all components of the nuclear triad. This is of fundamental importance to ensure our national security and preserve strategic parity in the world. We discussed this specifically, in detail during our most recent session of meetings last November in Sochi. As you know, such meetings have already become traditional. Our approaches in this area are strictly defensive and set forth in the 2020 document On the Principles of State Nuclear Deterrence Policy of the Russian Federation.
The second point, it is as important to consolidate the potential of the non-nuclear deterrent capability, primarily high-precision weapons. We do not intend to produce and deploy medium- and shorter-range missiles in the European part of Russia or in other areas of the country, for that matter. However, we must be ready to respond in a timely manner to the Western countries’ deployment of counterpart missiles near our borders. If we are forced to, we must take all response measures and do this in the shortest time possible. I have no doubt that we will do this, both as regards the deployment locations of the relevant systems and their control centres.
The third point. We must continue smoothly reequipping the Army and the Navy with modern weapons and hardware. In other words, the assignments of the state defence order must be fulfilled strictly on time. I would like to emphasise that with respect to strategic forces, we have already done serious research and technology groundwork on pieces of equipment that have no counterparts in the world. Our general-purpose forces must be developed in the same way. Let me add that the Defence Ministry and defence enterprises must review the question of signing long-term contracts on all the main types of weapons. At the same time it is necessary to absolutely rule out unjustified increases in the costs of orders, use rational pricing procedures.
The fourth point, the technical modernisation of the Army and the Navy requires the introduction of new forms and methods of combat action. It is necessary to develop military science for this purpose. It is not enough just to study the experience of current armed conflicts and local wars. It is also essential to make forecasts for the future, in part, to take into consideration the appearance of weapons based on new physical principles in the armies of some Western countries. We know this and are working on it, but we must constantly keep our attention focused on it.
Fifth, combat training must include more active use of weapons and equipment with AI elements, which we discussed at the Security Council meeting only recently, including robotic vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, and automated control and command systems. Such weapons can increase the combat capability of units several times over and will largely determine the outcome of hostilities today and in the near future. In addition, new approaches to using the Union State’s regional group must be tested during the upcoming Zapad 2021 (West) exercises.
Some of our neighbours are already showing increased interest in our plans for the exercise. But we traditionally invite observers to them. Mr Shoigu, we must invite them this time as well. Let them watch: we are open in this sense.
Comrade officers,
One of our main objectives and clear priorities is to raise the standards of social guarantees for the country’s defenders. I would like to note that the military pay was increased by 3 percent on October 1, 2020.
We also keep up the pace of housing construction for the military personnel. Over the past three years, more than 15,000 of our military personnel have bought housing with federal subsidies, and 108,000 have been issued military-provided flats. In 2021–2023, another 10,000 of our service people will receive permanent flats and 90,000, military-provided housing.
The savings and mortgage system is quite effective. In 2018–2020, it has been used to provide housing to over 57,000 of our military personnel. Another 55,000 will use it to buy housing in the next three years.
Taken together, in 2018–2023, nearly 138,000 of our military personnel will have acquired permanent housing, and 198,000 will have been issued military-provided housing. The latter figure will be even larger with due account for sublease subsidies, which have been issued to 59,600 people in 2020 alone.
We will continue improving living conditions for our military personnel, their families and military pensioners. I am sure, and you no doubt share this view, that the wellbeing of our military personnel will strengthen the combat capability of the Army and the Navy, as well as national security, and will also enhance the prestige of military service.
In conclusion, I would like to thank the Defence Ministry leadership and staff for the 2020 results.
I am sure that you will continue to attain your objectives in the same commendable manner.
Thank you.
Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu: Comrade Supreme Commander-in-Chief,
In 2020, the geography of challenges expanded, and the role of the armed force in resolving international problems increased. NATO sees Russia as the main threat to their military build-up on our borders.
The United States has started redeploying its combat units from Germany to Poland and the Baltic countries. The reconnaissance and demonstration actions of US aircraft and warships near Russian borders have become 15 percent more active over the past year.
The US is building up the forward presence of US ships in the Arctic. NATO’s exercises, conducted simultaneously at Russia’s western, southern and eastern borders have become systematic. In August and September alone, they involved 55 warplanes, including strategic bombers and 12 ships that carry precision weapons. We are closely following these exercises and we respond appropriately.
Our nuclear triad is maintained at a level that guarantees strategic deterrence. Over 95 percent of our strategic missile forces are continuously ready for combat use. Our long-range aircraft are successfully patrolling the air space. This year, our strategic missile carriers performed 50 flights on pre-set routes. Our nuclear missile submarines are on scheduled combat service in assigned areas in the World Ocean.
The high combat readiness of our strategic nuclear forces is ensured by the unprecedented level of our modern arms, which stands at 86 percent. This year, three missile regiments of the strategic missile forces have been reequipped with Yars missiles. The 1st regiment continues to be reequipped with the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle. The aviation strategic nuclear forces have been armed with five upgraded Tu-95 MS missile carriers.
The Navy has received a flagship Borei-A class nuclear-powered submarine Knyaz Vladimir armed with Bulava ballistic missiles and cutting-edge systems for overcoming missile defence. Modern infrastructure has been created for the Yars and Avangard missile systems. This year over 950 structures and facilities have been built for the strategic missile forces.
Ground forces have received over 3,500 new and upgraded weapons, including 220 tanks and other armoured combat vehicles, and over 1,500 pieces of automotive equipment. A new motor rifle division – missile artillery brigades – has been established.
To be continued.
