Vladimir Putin has delivered a madcap speech ahead of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian President has attacked the West during a rambling speech in which he vowed to continue with the conflict and repeated baseless claims that Ukraine is a ‘Nazi state‘.
It comes after U.S. President Joe Biden pulled a fast one by embarrassing the hapless Russians by visiting Kyiv to show support to his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Despite having a personal responsibility for the devastating conflict, Putin opted to share the blame around to just about everyone bar himself.
In his rambling monologue before a less than invested crowd he said that the west wants to grow ‘local conflict into global opposition’, adding it wants to “finish” with Russia “forever,” Putin claims.
“They want to grow a local conflict into a global opposition,” he said.
He accused the West of engaging in “information attacks” on young people, the Orthodox church, and culture. “They are destroying families, cultures, national identities,” he said.
He added that the West’s commitment to peace turned out to be “fraud“, and a “cruel lie” and claimed that Kyiv was trying to gather biological and nuclear weapons.
This is unverifiable nonsense, naturally.
“We were doing everything possible to solve this problem peacefully, negotiating a peaceful way out of this difficult conflict, but behind our backs a very different scenario was being prepared.”
Next, he claimed he tried to solve the conflict peacefully and blamed the West for being anti-Russia for years.
Putin accused the West of “opening the way” for Nazis to take power in the 1930s, and said that since the 19th century the West has tried to tear away Russia’s “historical lands” – “what is now called Ukraine“.
Then he randomly threw in some homophobia for good measure and slammed the West (once again) for allowing same-sex marriage. “Family means a union between a man and a woman.”
“We have to protect our children from degradation and degeneration – and we will,” he added.
“It’s essential that all participants in the special military operation… receive annual leave of at least 14 days“.
Putin said Western sanctions designed to make the Russian people “suffer” had not succeeded, and claimed the share of Russian roubles in international transactions has “doubled“.
Putin also informed those gathered how Russia has suspended participation from the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty.
Not inconsequential as it is a strategic arms reduction treaty between the US and Russia signed in 2002.
“The truth is on our side” he suggested to a muted response.
