Kremlin says 'special military operation' will meet its goals in Ukraine

Russia shrugs off retreat in northeast Ukraine as Putin focuses on economy

Faced with one of its worst defeats in nearly seven months of war in Ukraine, the Kremlin insisted on Monday it would achieve its military goals and President Vladimir Putin maintained an air of business as usual as he chaired a meeting on the economy.
 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to answer directly, when asked by a reporter if Putin still had confidence in his military leadership after Ukraine's lightning counteroffensive in the northeast of the country.
 

Instead he repeated a familiar mantra. "The special military operation continues. And it will continue until the goals that were originally set are