(Moscow) Vladimir Putin warned the West on Thursday against a “real threat” of nuclear war in the event of an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, in his annual speech to the Nation, an annual high mass during which he defines the priorities of the Russia.
Comforted by Russian successes in Ukraine, the Russian head of state also welcomed the progress of his troops on the front, two weeks before a presidential election which he should win without surprise.
In a calm tone, under very regular applause from the public, he returned to the controversial remarks of his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, who this week raised the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine.
“They (Westerners) talked about the possibility of sending Western military contingents to Ukraine […] But the consequences of these interventions would really be more tragic,” he declared, from Gostiny Dvor, a congress center located near Red Square in Moscow.
“They must understand that we too have weapons capable of hitting targets on their territory. Everything that they are inventing at the moment, in addition to frightening the whole world, is a real threat of conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and therefore of the destruction of civilization,” continued the Russian president.
“So they don’t understand that?” “, he wondered aloud.
“Multiple” military capabilities
The Russian president appears in better shape than a year ago, when his army was subject to humiliating retreats in the south and northeast of Ukraine, after an abortive attempt to seize Kyiv in the spring 2022.
Since then, the Ukrainian army has failed in its counter-offensive launched in the summer of 2023 and finds itself on the defensive, lacking ammunition due to lack of agreement in Washington and due to the slowness of European deliveries, facing Russian soldiers. more numerous and better armed.
In mid-February, the latter succeeded in seizing the fortress town of Avdiïvka, on the eastern front, and continued their push in this sector, arousing the satisfaction of Vladimir Putin.
He also welcomed the “flexibility and resistance” of the Russian economy which, despite a barrage of Western sanctions, is resisting for the moment and has turned towards Asia and the war effort. .
“The military capabilities of the (Russian) armed forces have been multiplied. They are advancing with confidence in several directions” of the front, Vladimir Putin rejoiced on Thursday, while estimating that “the absolute majority of the Russian people” supported the military campaign in Ukraine.
“We preserved the unity of the country, we did not allow it to be torn into pieces,” said the head of the Kremlin.
He also attacked the current American authorities, accusing them of “wanting to show that they run the world as before” and of engaging in “demagoguery” before the American presidential election next November.
According to him, Russia is “ready for a dialogue” with the United States on issues of “strategic stability”.
Navalny’s funeral
In his speeches to the Nation, Vladimir Putin traditionally takes stock of the past year and sets new strategic directions, in front of his country’s political and military elite.
On Thursday, he once again praised the “traditional values” officially defended by the Kremlin, ensuring that Russia was one of their “bastions”.
“A family with many children must become the norm,” he said, while Russia has been facing serious demographic problems for many years, reinforced by the assault in Ukraine and the departure abroad hundreds of thousands of citizens.
He also assured that the fight against poverty in Russia was one of his priorities, welcomed a drop in “alcohol consumption” and promised more funding to renovate the country’s schools.
Russian media point out that his Thursday speech is being broadcast not only on television, but also free of charge in cinemas in 20 cities in Russia, a country whose population is subject, according to Kremlin critics, to increasing political regimentation. .
Thursday’s speech comes on the eve of the funeral planned in Moscow for his main opponent, anti-corruption activist Alexeï Navalny, who died on February 16 in prison in unclear conditions.
Vladimir Putin, who never mentioned the name of Alexeï Navalny in public, has still not commented on this death which shocked Western powers.