Almost a year following the start of the massive invasion of Russian troops into Ukrainian territory –the largest conventional military attack on European soil since the Yugoslav wars that lasted from 1991 to 2001–, the most relevant events that have occurred in the last few hours in relation to to the conflict, both in the theater of operations and in the diplomatic field and in that of political rhetoric, project a scenario as bleak as it is exasperating.
This Tuesday, the incidents that caused the greatest impact in this context had Russian President Vladimir Putin as the main protagonist.
The former intelligence officer of the KGB (acronym by which the former intelligence and secret police agency of the disintegrated Soviet Union is identified) blamed the United States and its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for the war conflict in Ukraine. He also assured that his country is doing everything possible “to achieve a peaceful solution” to the hostilities and considered “impossible” an eventual defeat on the battlefield of the troops of the Russian Federation, whose political leadership it has exercised without interruptions or concessions since 2012.
He did so during his first speech before the Russian Federal Assembly since the start of the armed incursion into Ukrainian soil, on February 24, 2022.
In front of the members of the legislative power of his country, the president assured that Ukraine and the Donbass region (a region of historical, cultural and economic relevance on the border shared by both countries in dispute) “have become a symbol of authentic lies ”. In this way he referred to the “hypocrisy” of the West “by withdrawing from fundamental agreements and expanding NATO” to the limit of Russia.
Putin referred to the agreements that emerged following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the communist bloc in Eastern Europe according to which the United States and the Atlantic Alliance assumed the commitment not to extend eastward beyond the former German Democratic Republic.
“We are only defending our people, their homes” from those who are attempting “the disintegration of Russia”, in reference to the United States and the West, “who have spent 150 billion dollars on Kiev – a flow of money for the war that did not ceases–” and that they have recently committed the shipment of longer-range weapons, to which the premier Russian promised to respond “firmly”.
allies of the devil
In the main hall of the Gostini Dvor convention center in Moscow, where he delivered his speech before Russian parliamentarians, Putin remarked: “The West is fighting once morest us militarily, propagandistically and economically but has not achieved results so far.”
For the Kremlin leader, Ukraine and other conflicts promoted by Washington and its allies “have left thousands dead and millions of refugees, something they want us to forget and with which they seek to hide their own corruption, their own problems.”
The Russian president stressed that the West “supported the bloody 2014 coup in Ukraine (which removed Viktor Yanukovych from power) and yet uses that and other symbols full of blood but it seems that nobody pays attention to that because they don’t care with such as fighting Russia; They are willing to use everything in their power, even the devil himself,” he emphasized.
“Atomic bomb
From that same rostrum, Putin announced the suspension of Russian participation in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start); This is the last pact signed between Moscow and Washington for the reduction and control of nuclear weapons.
In this sense, he indicated that “Russia must be prepared to carry out nuclear tests if the United States carries them out first.” He clarified that it is not a question of completely “abandoning” the agreement but of “suspending Russian participation”, while at the same time he considered NATO’s calls for it to comply with the reference commitment “absurd” when -according to his interpretation- the military alliance and the United States systematically fail to comply with the pacts assumed in defense of peace.
In line with the decision, the Russian Dune (the Lower House of Parliament) undertook to provide the political authorities with the legal instruments to eventually increase the number of nuclear warheads. The head of the Defense Commission of the collegiate body indicated “that, if necessary, Russia will increase the number of nuclear warheads in its possession, as well as the missiles that can carry them.”
Requests for reconsideration
In this regard, while visiting Greece, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, described Putin’s decision to suspend Russia’s participation in Start as “unfortunate” and “irresponsible”.
In the same sense, the Secretary General of NATO expressed himself. Jens Stoltenberg urged Russia on Tuesday to reconsider its announcement of the latest pact signed with the United States for the reduction and control of nuclear weapons, warning that this step “dismantles” the arms control architecture.
“I regret the decision (of Moscow) to leave the New Start. In recent years, Russia has violated and abandoned key agreements to control arms”, questioned the former Norwegian prime minister at a press conference following meeting with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dimitro Kuleba, and the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell. .
The French Foreign Ministry also called on the Russian authorities to “revoke” as soon as possible the decision announced the day before regarding Moscow’s participation in the pact signed with Washington for the purpose of reducing and controlling nuclear arsenals. of both military powers.
