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 annual speech to the Nation, an annual high mass during which he defined the priorities for Russia. Comforted by Russian successes in Ukraine, the Russian head of state also welcomed the progress of his troops on the front, two weeks before a presidential election which he should win without surprise.
In a calm tone, under very regular applause from the public, he returned to the controversial remarks of his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, who this week raised the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine. “They (Westerners) talked about the possibility of sending Western military contingents to Ukraine (…) But the consequences of these interventions would really be more tragic,” he declared, from Gostiny Dvor, a Congress Palace 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 now, in addition to scaring the whole world, is a real threat of conflict with the use of nuclear weapon and therefore the destruction of civilization,” continued the Russian president. “So they don’t understand that?” he asked himself aloud during a speech lasting a little over two hours in front of the country’s political, military, economic and religious elite.
“Multiplied” military capabilities
The Russian president appears in better shape than a year ago, when his army was subject to humiliating retreats in the south and northeast of Ukraine, after an abortive attempt to seize Kiev in the spring 2022. Since then, the Ukrainian army has 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 and better armed Russian soldiers.
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 military capabilities of the (Russian) armed forces have been multiplied. They are advancing with confidence in several directions” of the front, Vladimir Putin rejoiced on Thursday, while estimating that “the absolute majority of the Russian people” supported his campaign military in Ukraine.
The soldiers engaged in Ukraine “will not retreat, will not fail, will not betray”, promised Vladimir Putin in the conclusion of his speech marked by a solemn listening to the Russian anthem. During his speech, the head of the Kremlin also boasted of 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.
The Russian president 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 American presidential election next November. According to him, Russia is nevertheless “ready for a dialogue” with the United States on issues 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, at the end of the next presidential term which he should win in an unopposed election organized from March 15 to 17. Vladimir Putin also, as usual, praised the “traditional values” defended by the Kremlin, ensuring that Russia was one of its “bastions” against 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 citizens. After a first part of a speech devoted to the international situation, he made multiple promises of social assistance, particularly for veterans and their families, and announced investments in infrastructure, education, digital and new technologies, culture or even environmental protection.
Russian media point out that the speech was broadcast not only on television but also free of charge in cinemas in 20 cities in Russia, a country whose population is subject, according to Kremlin critics, to increasing political regimentation.
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 conditions. Vladimir Putin, who has never mentioned the name of Alexeï Navalny in public, has still not commented, including on Thursday, on this death which shocked Western powers.