Carrots, COVID and inflation: the main statements of the forum "Russia is calling!"

Vladimir Putin, President of RUSSIA

About the demographic problem

“This problem has acquired a backbone economic character due to the lack of the required number of workers in the labor market. <...> Losses are approximately 1.1–1.2 p.p. in year. And for humanitarian reasons, and from the point of view of strengthening our statehood, and for economic reasons, the solution of the demographic problem is one of the main ones.”

About the red line in Ukraine

“If some strike systems appear on the territory of Ukraine, the flight time to Moscow will be 7–10 minutes, and when deploying hypersonic weapons, it will be 5 minutes. And what should we do? We will then have to create something similar in relation to those who threaten us with this. And we can do it now. We have now tested a sea-based hypersonic missile with a speed of Mach 9, which will be in service with us from the beginning of the year. Flight time to those who give such orders will also be 5 minutes. Creating such threats is the red line for us.”