“The West lied to us, this is a terrible deception” – this is how Russian President Vladimir Putin described the reaction of Western countries to the “special military operation” in Ukraine. The head of state delivers his annual speech, which is expected to last two hours.
“A year ago, in order to protect our historical lands and eliminate the threat close to us, we decided to conduct a special military operation. Since 2014, Donbass has been fighting and wants to live independently, for the people there to speak their native language,” Putin began.
“We have done our best to resolve this issue peacefully. The promises of the West to aid peace efforts turned out to be a sham. A terrible lie,” said the Russian president.
“They were advising Kiev to carry out terrorist attacks, supplying them with weapons, training them. “Even before we started the special military operation, Kiev and the West were negotiating on weapons,” added Putin.
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Photo: EPA/Reuters
He stressed that the United States and NATO “proudly admit their betrayal.”
“Donbas is burning. Local blood is being spilled as Russia tries to resolve this issue peacefully. They (the West – b.r.) were playing with us. This is a disgusting scam. They cannot clean up this disgrace,” Putin said.
According to the Russian president, the West tried to provide Kiev with biological and nuclear weapons. “They were just playing for time. They turned a blind eye to political murders,” he added.
“I want to repeat again – it is they who are responsible for this war. And we are using force to stop it,” the Russian president said to thunderous applause.
“The more long-range weapons are provided to Ukraine, the more we will have to repel the threat from our borders.” This is normal,” Putin said.
“The Western elite do not hide that they want to defeat Russia strategically. It means they want to destroy us forever. They want to turn a regional conflict into a global one. This is how we understand it and we will respond to it. Our existence is threatened here. But they cannot defeat Russia on the battlefield,” the Russian president said.
According to the head of state of Russia, the West diverts people’s attention with corruption scandals.
“The West opened the way for the Nazis in the 1930s, and since the 19th century it has been trying to tear away historical lands from our country – the place that is now called Ukraine. Everything repeats itself,” he added.
The Russian president began to outline the reasons why the West is harmful to the world, paying special attention to the rights of LGBTI people. He commented that family means “a union between a man and a woman, as the sacred texts of every single religion on the planet say.”
“But the West doubts these sacred texts… We must protect our children from this degradation. And we will do it,” Putin said to thunderous applause.
Later, the head of state continued by thanking all the Russian heroes who took part in the war and, together with the hall, honored the fallen Russians with silence.
The Russian president thanked the residents of the separatist regions of Ukraine for “standing against the enemy together with their homeland.” “There was nothing braver than standing by Russia. For our great-grandfathers, for the future of our children and grandchildren… for correcting the historical injustice – this is what our heroes are fighting for,” he said.
The Russian president has announced that he will request the formation of a special state fund to support veterans and families of fallen fighters.
Putin also pointed out how good it is to work in the army because of the high salaries and covering the needs of families.
