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 speech to the Nation, an annual high mass on the occasion of which he defined the priorities of Russia.
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This new statement on nuclear power was described by Washington as “irresponsible rhetoric”. France, for its part, called on the master of the Kremlin “not to escalate”.
The Russian head of state also welcomed the advance of his army on the front in Ukraine, two weeks before a presidential election which he should unsurprisingly win in the absence of opposition.
In a calm tone, under very regular applause from the audience made up of the Russian elite, he returned to the controversial remarks of his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, who this week raised the possibility of sending troops Western countries in Ukraine.
“They (Westerners) talked about the possibility of sending military contingents to Ukraine (…). But the consequences of these interventions would really be more tragic,” he said 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 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 the destruction of civilization,” continued Mr. Putin.
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Despite the controversy aroused by his remarks even among France’s allies, Emmanuel Macron assured Thursday that each of his words on Ukraine was “weighted” and “measured”.
“Multiplied” military capabilities
According to Héloïse Fayet, of the French Institute of International Relations, Vladimir Putin aims above all, through these new nuclear threats, to dissuade Western public opinion from supporting the supply of more weapons to Ukraine.
“We are in a relatively balanced deterrent relationship and, for the moment, there are no greater signs of risk of the use of nuclear weapons,” she told AFP.
In any case, the Russian president appears to be in a better position than a year ago. The Ukrainian army 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 more numerous Russian soldiers. 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.
The Russian soldiers engaged in Ukraine “will not retreat, will not fail, will not betray,” Mr. Putin promised again in the conclusion of his speech followed by a solemn listening to the Russian anthem.
In his speech, the master of the Kremlin also praised the “flexibility and resistance” of the Russian economy which, despite a barrage of Western sanctions, is holding its own and has turned towards Asia and the war effort.
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 November presidential election in the United States.
According to Mr. Putin, Russia is nevertheless “ready for a dialogue” with Washington on questions of “strategic stability”.
Presidential program
In his speeches to the Nation, Vladimir Putin traditionally takes stock of the past year and defines new strategic directions.
On Thursday, he particularly set a program to be fulfilled by 2030, the year of the end of the next presidential term which he should win following an unopposed vote organized from March 15 to 17.
The Russian head of state also, as usual, praised the “traditional values” defended by the Kremlin, ensuring that Russia was one of its “bastions” in the face of a West considered depraved.
“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 its citizens.
After a first part of his speech devoted to the international situation, he made multiple promises of social assistance, in particular for veterans and their families, and announced investments in infrastructure, education, digital technology and news. technologies, culture and even environmental protection.
His speech came on the eve of the funeral planned in Moscow of his main opponent, the anti-corruption activist Alexeï Navalny, who died on February 16 in prison at the age of 47 in obscure circumstances.
Vladimir Putin, who never mentioned this man’s name in public, has still not commented, including on Thursday, on his death which shocked Western powers.