‘Behind our backs…’: Putin lashes out at Ukraine, its western allies amid war
1 min read 21 Feb 2023, 03:24 PM ISTAs Russia's invasion of Ukraine nears the one year mark, President Vladimir Putin vowed to continue its offensive and accusing its Western opponents of underhanded tactics.
PremiumRussian President Vladimir Putin lashed out at Ukraine and its Western allies on Tuesday, accusing its opponent of underhanded tactics. In major speech to Russia's two houses of parliament he also asserted that the other country had all the financial resources necessary to guarantee national security and development despite Western economic sanctions.
“We were doing everything possible to solve this problem peacefully, negotiating a peaceful way out of this difficult conflict, but behind our backs, a very different scenario was being prepared," the Russian leader said today.
He said that the NATO-led western bloc had fanned the flames of the conflict and pushed for war while operating under a misguided belief that it could defeat Moscow. As he put it, the latter was ‘impossible’.
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The Russian leader asserted that the people of Ukraine had become “the hostage of the Kyiv regime and its Western overlords" and insisted that the Ukranian regime now existed primarily to serve the interests of ‘those third countries’.
“They intend to transform a local conflict into a phase of global confrontation. This is exactly how we understand it all and we will react accordingly, because in this case we are talking about the existence of our country," he alleged.
The remarks came less than a day after US President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to the Ukranian capital and announced a fresh tranche of aid. Italian President Meloni has also travelled to the war-torn country today. As Moscow fumes, set to consult with allies from NATO's eastern flank in Poland today.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian leaders dismissed Putin's remarks, asserting that the Russian leader was operating in an alternate reality.
"He is in a completely different reality, where there is no opportunity to conduct a dialogue about justice and international law," political adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters.
(With inputs from agencies)
