Putin addresses coordination council, seeks to streamline decision-making

Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Russian president Vladimir Putin spoke to his new Government Coordination Council for the first time Tuesday, seeking to address military logistical issues, according to a statement released by the Kremlin.

The council was created last week in an effort to streamline decision-making in the Russian military as the country continues its invasion and occupation of Ukraine, which Moscow continues to refer to as a "special military operation."

"We faced certain difficulties and the need to upgrade our work, give it a new momentum and new character when we were responding to the coronavirus pandemic," Putin told the council, according to the Kremlin statement.

"If we follow standard bureaucratic procedures and hide behind formalities, we will not achieve the desired result in any area. We established a mechanism like the Coordination Council with the express purpose of resolving all issues faster and more effectively."

The council includes deputy prime ministers, heads of agencies, representatives of the executive office and of Russian regions.

"We are trying to do this, to arrange this work in a new way, to make administration more efficient in all areas of our activities since our fight against coronavirus. Now we are facing new challenges that are serious and considerable," Putin said, according to the Kremlin transcript.

Russian forces have faced a series of recent setbacks on the battlefield. They are preparing to defend the city of Kherson, despite steady advances Ukrainian troops have made in reclaiming the region, Ukraine's military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said Monday.

Kherson is in one of four regions Russia attempted to illegally annex earlier in the month. It is the sole regional capital controlled by Moscow.

Moscow said last week it was instituting martial law in the four Ukrainian regions, heightening the potential for increased hostilities.

Putin announced a "partial mobilization" of reservists last month to bolster Moscow's military ranks in Ukraine, saying at the time that move was necessary "to protect our motherland" from the West.

Russia's military has been plagued by logistical issues including transporting medicine and supplies to the front lines as well as equipment shortages.

"Now we are faced with the need to more rapidly resolve issues associated with providing support for the special military operation and the need to counter economic restrictions that were imposed on us, which are truly unprecedented without any exaggeration," Putin said, according to the Kremlin statement Tuesday.

"I have spoken many times with many of those present at this meeting about issues related to the need to update our entire work to improve administrative procedures. We have approached these problems many times from various angles."