Putin pledges to make military gains after meeting his campaign crew

President Putin said on Wednesday that he will make sure Ukrainian forces stay away from Russia. He also met with people helping him in his campaign for the March presidential election, which he is likely to win.

When asked about the military plan in Ukraine, Putin said that they need to move the line where fighting is happening further away from their country. They want to do this so that they are safe from the long-range guns that Ukraine is getting from the West and using to attack cities.

He said that the Russian military has been pushing the enemy away from important cities.

“Our guys are fighting and risking their lives there to protect the Motherland and our people,” he said.

Ukraine has attacked inside Russia recently, including a Dec. 30 attack happened at Belgorod. It killed 25 people and hurt more than 100.

Putin also said that Russian investigators found that Ukraine used air defense systems from the U. Sto shoot down a Russian military plane in the Belgorod region on Jan. The text is missing, so it cannot be rewritten in simpler words. Russian officials said that the crash killed all 74 people on the plane, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war who were being taken to exchange with others.

Ukrainian officials didn’t say they didn’t shoot down the plane, but they also didn’t admit it. They want people from other countries to investigate.

Putin said Russia wants to have an international investigation into what he called a “crime” by Ukraine and would demand it.

Putin, who is 71 years old, is running for president without belonging to any political party. He has been in power for 24 years and has a strong grip on Russia’s political system.

With important people who disagree with him in jail or living in other countries, and most news sources that report without bias are not allowed, he will most likely win the presidential election on March 15-17.

“Russia had to protect its interests using the military,” Putin said during the meeting with his campaign team. He also mentioned that Russian troops were making progress near the town of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine during the meeting.

“We are going through a tough and important time for our country. We are working on making our country strong and independent in every way,” he said. “Dirt that is always there is getting cleaned away little by little. ”

After changing the constitution, Putin can run for president two more times, and potentially stay in power until 2036. He has been the leader of the Kremlin for longer than anyone since Josef Stalin, who was the leader until he died in 1953.

Three more people from political parties in the government are also running for election: Nikolai Kharitonov from the Communist Party, Leonid Slutsky from the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party, and Vladislav Davankov from the New People Party.

All three groups have mostly agreed with the Kremlin’s rules. Kharitonov competed against Putin in 2004 and came in second place, far behind.

Boris Nadezhdin, who is 60 years old and works in local government near Moscow, wants to run for office. He has said that the fighting in Ukraine should stop and we should talk to the West.

Many Russians signed papers to support Nadezhdin, showing they disagree with the strict rules of politics. This could be a problem for the government. On Wednesday, Nadezhdin gave 105,000 signatures to the Central Election Commission. They will check them in the next few days.