Putin reveals family speaks Chinese during informal Tuva visit

Vladimir Putin appeared on Monday in Kyzyl in the Republic of Tuva, in southern Russia, where he held a meeting with students from local schools. The visit was meant to soften the leader's image and thus had a less formal nature.

During the conversation, Putin unexpectedly broached a topic concerning his own family. The issue was related to the growing interest in the Chinese language among Russians, which is partly due to increasing business dependencies. "When people communicate with each other to solve specific problems posed by life, there arises a need to learn each other's language," he stated at one point.

"By the way, interest in the Russian language is also growing in China. Members of my family, even the little ones, speak Chinese. They speak it fluently," he revealed.

During the visit to Kyzyl, topics related to the war in Ukraine were also discussed. The leader referred to the ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Kursk region, calling the nearly month-long operation a "provocation" and concluded that the Ukrainian forces had failed to disrupt Russian offensive actions in the Donetsk region. He also referred to the Ukrainians as "bandits."

"The opponent counted on breaking our offensive actions at key front segments in Donbas but did not achieve this goal," he emphasized.

He claimed that Russian forces in eastern Ukraine were advancing at a pace unseen for a long time, capturing areas not by 180-270 metres but whole square kilometres.

Putin, quoted by the independent Russian portal Meduza, also maintained that Moscow "has always advocated for a peaceful settlement (of the war - ed.), but first, the Ukrainian bandits who entered Russian territory must be dealt with." "I am convinced that this provocation will end in failure. Then it will be necessary to move on to peace talks. We have never refused to participate in them," he said. He also stated that the Ukrainian authorities "are not interested in stopping the fighting."