The Russian state news agency Sputnik published this photo: the Kremlin chief during a meeting of the Security Council.
(Photo: dpa)
Moscow A week after the invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the public in a speech and denied attacks against cities and the civilian population. The attacks were aimed solely at “neo-Nazis,” the Kremlin chief claimed.
In his speech, he accused the Ukrainian armed forces of entrenching themselves in the cities. “They use civilians as human shields,” he lamented at a National Security Council meeting on Thursday, the start of which was publicly broadcast.
The Ukrainian army is also taking foreigners hostage, Putin claimed. He referred to allegedly more than 3,000 Indians who would not be let out of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
In addition, Putin said that Ukrainian nationalists shot at Chinese and injured two of them when they tried to leave the city. “This proves that we are fighting extremist bandits,” said the Kremlin chief.
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Once again he insisted that Ukraine posed a threat to Russia and had threatened “among other things with nuclear weapons”. With the mission, Russia is only defending its own security and protecting the population in Donbass. He did not provide any evidence for his allegations.
At the same time, Putin acknowledged some losses in his own armed forces, without giving exact figures. However, he promised the relatives compensation payments. 7.4 million rubles are planned anyway, and he will also arrange for a surcharge of another five million rubles, he announced.
Praise for the Russian Armed Forces
After last week’s fall in the ruble, the total is about $100,000. Wounded will be paid three million rubles ($25,000).
In this context, he praised the actions of the Russian armed forces and gave two examples of the alleged destruction of large Ukrainian troops by Russian officers. At the same time, he posthumously awarded a Dagestani officer the Order of Hero of Russia.
Overall, Putin was confident of victory. The operation is “going according to plan,” he said before the broadcast was cut short.
Details of his conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron had already been made public. Macron was very disillusioned afterwards because Putin had not backed away from any war goals and was setting unacceptable conditions. It all boils down to Moscow striving for a complete occupation of Ukraine, sources in Paris said.
>>> Read here: The large-scale attack on Kyiv is imminent – is Russia proceeding as in the Syrian war?
While Putin’s speech was brimming with militarism, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded with an offer to talk. Ukraine has neither attacked Russia nor does it have nuclear weapons, he said.
Zelensky said he was ready to talk to Putin. “Sit at the table with me and talk, I’m free. But please not at a distance of 30 meters like with Macron. After all, we’re neighbors.”
More: War on the cities: is Putin changing his strategy now?