The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, stated this Thursday that the country had managed to “prove that it is capable of responding to the most difficult challenges”
“We can only carry out all our plans together. We have proven that Russia is capable of responding to the most difficult challenges,” he said, in a State of the Nation address, cited by the RIA Novosti news agency.
Putin also referred to the so-called “special military operation” carried out in Ukraine, which, according to the president, received “overwhelming support” from the Russian population.
Over the past two years, “Russian companies have sent billions of rubles” to support the military, which is “a contribution to the general victory”.
Putin assured that the “institutions of democracy in Russia” will be “further” developed. And he emphasized that “we will not allow anyone to interfere in our internal affairs.”
Throwing barbs at the West that he said needed “a fading and dying space,” the Russian president said Western leaders “miscalculated when they were confronted with the determination of the Russian people.”
Representatives of different ethnic groups, cultures and religions proved in practice that the unity of our people is a colossal and conquering force, he stressed. This is the 19th time that Putin has spoken before the Russian Federal Assembly.
The 71-year-old president, in power since 2000, will run for a new term in the presidential elections that will take place between March 15th and 17th.
