Overview

• Speaking at the Valdai Discussion Club session in Sochi on October 2, Vladimir Putin said the mission of Russia’s Defense Ministry is to ensure the security of the state and its peoples.
• He contrasted Russia’s stance with Russian media reports that the U.S. Department of Defense was renamed a “Ministry of War,” calling the phrasing aggressive.
• Putin said the U.S. institution would act in line with the reported new title, using the phrase “as you name the ship, so shall it sail.”
• He emphasized that Russia has a Defense Ministry, not a ministry of war, and said policy would continue to reflect that principle.
• RIA Novosti carried both the remarks and the reported U.S. renaming, which the coverage presents as a report rather than independently confirmed.