Putin insists on Russian war aims
For the first time since the attack on Ukraine, Putin holds a major press conference. Russia's ruler speaks of a de facto civil war for which "our American friends" are to blame. The Kremlin leader's main condition for peace is Ukraine's renunciation of NATO membership.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has reaffirmed Moscow's military goals in the Ukraine conflict. "There will be peace when we have achieved our goals," said Putin at his end-of-year press conference in Moscow. With its offensive launched in February 2022, Russia wants to continue to achieve "the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine and its neutral status".
Ukraine is not prepared to negotiate demilitarization, the ruler continued. Russia was therefore "forced to take other measures, including military measures". A condition for peace was the country's neutral status - i.e. renouncing NATO membership - and the demilitarization of the neighbouring country, Putin said. Observers saw this as an offer to the West with a request to Ukraine to capitulate in the war.
Commenting on the situation on the front, the Kremlin leader said that the Russian army was improving its positions "practically along the entire length of the line of contact". Ukraine had launched a counter-offensive in June, but this did not bring the successes Kiev had hoped for. The course of the front has hardly changed this year.
At the same time, Putin said that no new partial mobilization was necessary for the war. The number of volunteers would reach half a million contract soldiers by the end of the year, with 1500 being added every day. Putin praised the fact that the 300,000 soldiers drafted after the controversial partial mobilization last year were producing excellent results. "They are fighting excellently," said the 71-year-old.
Big media spectacle
Once again, he also spoke of the goal of "denazification" in Ukraine. As examples, Putin cited the veneration of the Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera and the case of a Ukrainian who had fought on the side of the Nazis during the Second World War and was given a standing ovation in the Canadian parliament in the presence of President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Speaker of Parliament in Canada then had to resign.
Putin held his first major press conference after a break due to the war the previous year. The question and answer session for journalists was combined as a media spectacle on state television with the TV show "The Direct Line", in which citizens can describe their problems, to form the "Results of the Year" program.
The attention for this major media event is not only high because of Putin's devastating war of aggression against Ukraine. It is the first time since the beginning of the invasion that he has spoken in such a TV format. Foreign and critical journalists were not allowed to attend the event. The Kremlin leader also wants to be elected president for the fifth time on March 17. He had the constitution amended specifically for this purpose.
Read also:
- Year of climate records: extreme is the new normal
- Precautionary arrests show Islamist terror threat
- UN vote urges Israel to ceasefire
- SPD rules out budget resolution before the end of the year
Despite Russia's offensive in Ukraine since February 2022, Vladimir Putin asserted that peace will only come once Russia achieves its objectives, which include the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine, leading to its neutral status and eventual withdrawal from NATO.
Condemning the veneration of Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera in Ukraine, Putin also criticized a Ukrainian war veteran who was given a standing ovation in the Canadian parliament, presenting a challenge to Ukrainian-Western relations.
Source: www.ntv.de
