Vladimir Putin claims “the consolidation” of Russian society thanks to his attempted invasion

Vladimir Putin welcomed the “consolidation of society” Russian behind its assault on Ukraine, speaking to the top brass of its army, Tuesday, December 19, a few months before the presidential election and the second anniversary of the launch of this murderous war. Taking stock of the year 2023, the Russian president once again criticized the West for waging war on him through Ukraine, accused his neighbor of Nazism and called into question the existence of the Ukrainian nation.

And he once again presented this conflict as a struggle for Russia’s survival against the West. “The most important thing is perhaps (…) this general consolidation of all the forces of society. I once thank those who help our fighters on the front”he said in front of an audience of generals, senior officials and even the Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, gathered together at the Ministry of Defense.

“I want to mention once again the enormous support that our citizens, entrepreneurs and volunteers, representatives of public organizations, parties and business collectives, schoolchildren, students and pensioners provide to combat units”, he added. He also welcomed the jump in the production of arms and munitions by Russian industry. Vladimir Putin, however, has not mentioned the extent of Russian losses on the front for two years, while he admitted last week that 617,000 Russians are fighting there.