2023-12-31 14:59:36
Nothing seems to stop him. Russian President Vladimir Putin assured this Sunday that his country will “never back down” in his New Year’s speech. “We have proven time and again that we can solve the most difficult tasks and that we will never back down because no force can divide us,” he said.
Even if Vladimir Putin did not directly mention the conflict in Ukraine, which began almost two years ago, he made several allusions to it, for example paying tribute to the soldiers, “our heroes”. But unlike last year, when the president appeared flanked by soldiers in uniform, this time he proclaimed that the year 2024 would be that of the “family”, in front of the traditional background of the Kremlin.
In 2023, “we firmly defended our national interests, our freedom and our security, our values,” he proclaimed in this speech broadcast first in the Russian Far East, taking into account the difference in time zones with Moscow.
“A historic phase” for Russia
The president affirmed that Russia, which is experiencing “a historic phase”, would be “even stronger” next year. During his vows last year, he said that “moral and historical correctness was on the side” of Russia.
Two days earlier, the Kremlin carried out a large series of strikes on several cities in Ukraine, including the capital kyiv, with “a record number of missiles”, which left at least 40 dead and dozens injured. “This is the most massive missile attack,” excluding the first days of the war, air force spokesman Yuri Ignat admitted at the time.
At the same time, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the delivery of 200 anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine to help it defend itself. Already, he believed that these strikes showed that Vladimir Putin “will stop at nothing”. Retaliation followed: Ukraine struck the town of Belgorod on Saturday, killing 24 people.
Russia then stressed that it would not let this missile and rocket attack go “unpunished”: this Sunday, it struck “military” targets in Kharkiv. Local authorities say on the contrary that they were civilian buildings.
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