Putin Admits War May Take Long Time As Mainland Russia Battered With Drones

Russian President Vladimir Putin has admitted that his country's waged war against Ukraine could take a long time.

Putin made the comment Wednesday when discussing Russia's special military operation with members of the Human Rights Council. Russian TV network NTV tweeted that Putin also said he considers nuclear weapons "as a means of protection, as an opportunity for a retaliatory strike."

Russia state media outlet Sputnik reported that in response to a question about nuclear escalation from Human Rights Council member Svetlana Makovetskaya, Putin said the threat of nuclear war is "growing."

While bragging that Russia's nuclear arsenal is the most advanced in the world, Putin did add that he is not "brandishing" nukes and views them as part of conflict deterrence.

The Russian president's comments to his hand-picked council members come after two days of drone strikes inside Russia at airfields at Dyagilevo in the Ryazan region and Engels in the Saratov region. Ukraine has not publicly taken ownership of the strikes.

The attacks came about one week after Latvian Foreign Affairs Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs suggested Ukraine should militarily attack inside Russia following repeated attacks on critical infrastructure.

A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department told Newsweek that President Joe Biden maintains his previously held position, that he is "not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders."

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed Biden's words during a press conference on Tuesday.

"But the important thing is to understand what Ukrainians are living through every day with the ongoing Russian aggression against their country and our determination to make sure that they have in their hands, along with many other partners around the world, the equipment that they need to defend themselves, to defend their territory, to defend their freedom," Blinken said.

Retired U.S. Army Major John Spencer called the strikes a "very big moment in the war," a proven demonstration to Ukrainians that they have the ability to successfully attack inside Russia.

Andriy Zagorodnyuk, a former Ukrainian minister of defense, told the New York Times that Russia's perceived invincibility has waned.

"If somebody attacks you, you fight back," said Zagorodnyuk. "You cannot consider, this person will attack you because you are fighting back. There is absolutely no strategic reason not to try to do this."

Kommersant, a Russian daily, reported that Putin spun a potentially lengthier war than expected by touting the annexed territories his country recently claimed through what has been viewed by Ukraine and the West as sham referendums.

"The Sea of ​​Azov has become an inland sea of ​​the Russian Federation. ... And the most important thing is the people who live in these territories," Putin said. "The results of the referendum showed that people want to be in Russia."

Newsweek reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.