Putin lashes out at the West and rules out the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine

The leader of the Kremlin charges against the West, while justifying his war against Ukraine.

During a lengthy speech at the Valdai forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to justify the war he ordered against Ukraine as the product of efforts by the United States and its allies to ensure their “global dominance,” something he said is “doomed to failure”.

“World domination is what the West is betting on in its game, but that game is undoubtedly a dangerous, bloody and, I would say, filthy one. It denies the sovereignty of countries and nations, their distinction and uniqueness, without taking into account the interests of other states,” said the president who ordered the invasion against his neighboring country on February 24.

The leader pointed out that Russia is not the enemy of the West, but that he will continue to oppose the supposed dictate of the “Western neo-liberal elites”, accusing them of trying to subjugate Russia.

“Their goal is to make Russia more vulnerable and to turn it into an instrument to fulfill their geopolitical tasks, they have not succeeded and they never will,” he said.

Once again the man with the longest time in power in Russian territory tried to excuse his expansionist plans towards a sovereign nation and attacked in the midst of the arms aid that the West provides to the attacked country. According to the president, these policies will promote more chaos and he warned that “he who sows wind will reap whirlwinds.”

In this regard, Putin added that the world is facing the “most dangerous” period in decades. “The world is at a historic turning point, awaiting the most dangerous and unpredictable decade since the days of World War II,” he said.

In another of his attempts to justify the conflict, Putin insisted on his long-standing claim that Russians and Ukrainians are part of “one people”, but again denigrated Ukraine as an “artificial state”, which received Russian land. history of the communist rulers during the Soviet period.

Putin denies intention to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine

The Kremlin leader asserted that Russian military doctrine allows the country to use nuclear weapons in defense, but rejected claims that his government would consider using them in Ukraine.

The president also assured that Moscow is ready to restart talks with Washington on nuclear arms control. However, he noted that he had received no response from the US government on his proposals for the “strategic stability” talks.

However, his words contrast with those he issued on September 21. That day, the head of state warned that his nation has a nuclear arsenal even greater than that of the member countries of NATO, led by the United States, which he would not hesitate to use. “I’m not lying,” he said at the time.

According to the Russian president, Western countries will have to start talking “on an equal footing” with the rest of the world, including his country, about a common future. “The sooner they do it, the better,” he asserted.

“Humanity now faces a choice: accumulate a burden of problems that will inevitably crush us all, or try to find solutions that may not be ideal but work and could make the world more stable and secure,” he stressed.

Putin also referred to the sanctions against Moscow in response to the invasion. Although he acknowledged the challenges that the measures pose for his government, he assured that his nation has proven resistant to foreign pressure and has become more united.

Moscow prepares “the mother of all battles” in Kherson

Meanwhile, kyiv warns that Russian troops are preparing to wage a renewed war soon in the strategic city of Kherson, in the south of the country, after days in which they seemed to be preparing for a withdrawal.

A senior Ukrainian official predicted that “the toughest of battles” is coming for the capital and the entire province of the same name, partially occupied by Russian troops. The expert indicated that the Moscow Army is currently entrenching to face the advancing Ukrainian forces.

“With Jersón everything is clear. The Russians are recovering, strengthening their grouping there,” said Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Kherson has symbolic value for the Kremlin leader, having been one of the first towns to fall under Russian control in the early days of the war.

In addition, it is strategic due to its industries and its important river and sea port.

Although Ukrainian forces have made progress in the past two months, retaking some settlements in the province, experts say they appear to have stalled in their counteroffensive since early October.

“No one is preparing to retire. On the contrary, the hardest battle will take place for Jersón”, affirmed Arestovych, after the speculations of a possible withdrawal of the invading troops. The official did not specify when that battle would start to take place.

Kherson is one of the four provinces annexed by Moscow last September in disputed referendums and its control is crucial in the course of the battle in the south of the country.

The region includes the only land route to the Crimean peninsula, irregularly incorporated by the Russians in 2014, and the mouth of the Dnieper River, a vital economic artery that bisects Ukraine.

That river current also figures prominently in the regional battle because it performs critical functions. Among them, the transport of supplies, troops and civilians; as well as the transfer of drinking water to southern Ukraine and the neighboring Crimean peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014.

With Reuters and AP