Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, once again justifies the invasion of Ukraine

One year into the invasion of Ukraine, Putin’s Russia is changing nothing, even in terms of rhetoric. Speaking before the country’s political elite, Putin reiterated the claim that the attack on Ukraine was a response to an alleged Western plan against Russia. Kyiv would have prepared for a military offensive in Donbas anyway, last spring, Vladimir Putin claimed.

While admitting that Russia was going through a difficult period, Vladimir Putin still described his country as the stronghold standing up against the Western decadence that seeks to rob the Russian people of their resources and to make them suffer. The West, the Russian president went on to say, has turned Ukraine into an anti-Russian project. And, he warned, the further into Russia Western weapons will hit, the more Moscow will be forced to remove these threats at its borders.

Putin announced the suspension of the New START treaty with the US on the reduction of strategic nuclear weapons and warned that Moscow may resume nuclear tests.

As for the waves of sanctions hitting the Russian economy, the Kremlin leader argued that it cannot be brought to its knees. Moreover, the sanctions purportedly created opportunities for autonomous development.

Whereas Putin’s address in Moscow targeted a domestic audience that needs convincing that the West is an intractable enemy for Russia, the US president Joe Biden’s speech in Warsaw was intended for the entire world, or at least the part of the world that loves freedom.

Biden praised Ukraine’s resilience and reiterated his country’s and its Western allies’ unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence. Biden accused the Russians of extreme brutality and crimes against humanity. He reaffirmed the commitment of the US to the NATO collective defence clause. „We will be strong, we will be united. Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia,” the US leader promised.

On the other hand, Biden dismissed Moscow’s claims that the West was plotting to attack Russia. „This war was never a necessity; it’s a tragedy. President Putin chose this war. Every day the war continues is his choice,” the US president said, and added that the war would be ended if Russia stopped invading Ukraine, but that if Ukraine stopped defending itself against Russia, it would be the end of Ukraine. This is why together we must make sure that Ukraine can defend itself, Biden argued.

Attending the speech was also the president of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, and president Biden asked the public to give her a round of applause, praising Chişinǎu’s path to EU membership and the people’s resolve to live in freedom.

Ştefan Stoica, Radio Romana International