(Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin updated Russia’s elite on Tuesday on the war in Ukraine, nearly one year to the day since ordering an invasion that has triggered the biggest confrontation with the West since the depths of the Cold War.
Here are highlights from his speech, delivered to members of both houses of parliament and to military commanders and soldiers.
HISTORIC TIME
“I am making this address at a time which we all know is a difficult, watershed moment for our country, a time of cardinal, irreversible changes around the world, the most important historic events that shape the future of our country and our people, when each of us bears a colossal responsibility.”
PROTECTING PEOPLE OF DONBAS
“Step by step, carefully and consistently, we will resolve the tasks facing us. Since 2014, the (people of the) Donbas had been fighting, defending their right to live on their own land, to speak their native language. They fought and did not give up in the conditions of blockade and constant shelling, undisguised hatred on the part of the Kyiv regime. They believed and expected that Russia would come to their rescue. Meanwhile, we did our best to solve this problem by peaceful means. We patiently tried to negotiate a peaceful way out of this most difficult conflict, but a completely different scenario was being prepared behind our backs.”
HOSTAGE OF WEST
“I have already said many times that the people of Ukraine have become the hostage of the Kyiv regime and its Western overlords, who have effectively occupied this country in the political, military and economic sense… Today’s Ukrainian regime essentially serves not the national interests but those of third countries.”
ECONOMIC RECONSTRUCTION
“We have already begun and will continue to build up a large-scale programme for the socio-economic recovery and development of these new subjects of the Federation (territory annexed from Ukraine). We are talking about reviving enterprises and jobs in the ports of the Sea of Azov, which has again become an inland sea of Russia, and building new modern roads, as we did in Crimea.”
EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO RUSSIA
“The elites of the West do not hide their purpose… That is, they intend to transform a local conflict into a phase of global confrontation. This is exactly how we understand it all and we will react accordingly, because in this case we are talking about the existence of our country. But they also cannot fail to realize that it is impossible to defeat Russia on the battlefield. Therefore, they are conducting more and more aggressive information attacks against us.
CULTURE WARS
“They distort historical facts, constantly attack our culture, the Russian Orthodox Church, and other traditional religions of our country. Look at what they do with their own peoples: the destruction of the family, cultural and national identity, perversion, and the abuse of children are declared the norm. And priests are forced to bless same-sex marriages… As it became known, the Anglican Church plans to consider the idea of a gender-neutral God… Millions of people in the West understand they are being led to a real spiritual catastrophe.
“…It is obvious that the West will try to undermine and split our society, rely on national traitors, who at all times have the same poison – contempt for their fatherland and a desire to make money by selling this poison to those who are ready to pay for it.”
CRITICISM OF UNITED STATES
“I want to emphasise that… no country in the world has as many military bases abroad as the United States. There are hundreds of them… around the world.
“The whole world has seen them withdraw from fundamental armaments agreements, including the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. They unilaterally tore apart the fundamental agreements that maintain world peace. Why did they do this? Just because they could.”
RUSSIA’S ECONOMY
“They (Western countries) want to make the (Russian) people suffer (with sanctions)… but their calculations did not materialise. The Russian economy and the management turned out to be much stronger than they thought…
“Many basic civilian sectors of the domestic economy not only have not shrunk, but have actually increased production… Russian farmers harvested a record crop of over 150 million tons of grain, including over 100 million tons of wheat. By the end of the agricultural year, that is, by June 30, 2023, we will be able to bring the total volume of grain exports to 55-60 million tons. Even 10-15 years ago that seemed like a fairy tale, an impossible plan…
“… Those imposing sanctions are punishing themselves. They have caused price hikes, job losses, an energy crisis. And we hear them telling their own people that the Russians are to blame… Russia’s economy and administrative system have turned out to be much more resilient than the West thought.”
(Reporting by Reuters)
