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new year speechVladimir Putin is bitter – “the West lied”
The Russian president is recording his New Year’s speech at a military facility this year. He sees Russia as a victim.
“It was a year of difficult, necessary decisions, the most important steps towards gaining full sovereignty of Russia and strong consolidation of our society,” Putin said in his New Year’s speech.
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That’s what it’s regarding
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In his New Year’s speech, Vladimir Putin accused Western countries of lying and aggression.
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The West is trying to take advantage of the conflict in Ukraine, Putin said.
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The Kremlin does not allow criticism in Russia of the military deployment in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recorded his wartime New Year’s speech surrounded by soldiers. “It was a year of difficult, necessary decisions, important steps towards maintaining Russia’s full sovereignty and with a huge consolidation in our society,” said Putin in the speech broadcast on Saturday, which might already be seen on the Far Eastern peninsula of Kamchatka. There, in the followingnoon Swiss time – with a time difference of eleven hours – the year 2023 had already begun. Russia fired rockets at Ukraine once more on Saturday.
At the same time, the Kremlin chief accused the West of “lying”. “Western elites have hypocritically assured all of us for years of their peaceful intentions, including solving the most serious conflict in Donbass,” Putin said. He had recently referred to statements by ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said in an interview that the peace plan for Donbass was also concluded with the aim of making Ukraine stronger. «The West lied regarding peace and is preparing for aggression. And today he’s not even ashamed to admit it openly.”
«This year we were declared a real sanctions war»
Ukraine and its people are being used to destroy Russia, Putin once once more claimed. “We have never allowed that to anyone – and will not allow it in the future,” he said in an authoritarian, combative tone. Russia has held its own once morest the pressure from the West, which has been imposing sanctions since 2014, and averted an economic collapse. «This year we were declared a real sanctions war. Those who instigated it expected total destruction of our industry, finance and transportation. That didn’t happen,” Putin said.
According to the Kremlin on Saturday, the 70-year-old visited the southern military district to talk to the commanders and soldiers. He called them to go forward and fight. At the same time, he conceded that there was still a lot to be done – also with a view to equipping the army with modern weapons.
In recent years, Putin has always been seen in front of the Kremlin giving the New Year’s speech. He thanked the military for their commitment in the war zone and raised a glass of champagne to their health, as shown by state television. Putin was accompanied by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov on the visit, during which numerous military medals were awarded.
(DPA/small)