Russia’s defense minister on Wednesday boasted about the country’s military prowess on the battlefield in Ukraine—and then shrugged when asked if Moscow would win. “The troops are engaged in maintaining an active defense in the necessary and indispensable areas. We are firmly defending what we need to defend right now. But the main task is to smash [Ukrainian] equipment,” Sergei Shoigu told a reporter on state-controlled TV. He appeared caught off guard when the reporter concluded the interview with the question, “Will we win?” Staring off into the distance for a long pause, Shoigu shrugged before saying simply, “We have no other option.” Not exactly a vote of confidence, it would appear.
