Putin, almost a year after the start of the invasion: "They are to blame for the war, we want to put an end to it"

Stresses that Russia "has done everything possible to achieve a peaceful solution" and says that its defeat on the battlefield is "impossible"

MADRID, 21 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West on Tuesday of "being to blame" for the war in Ukraine and stressed that Moscow is only "using force to end" a war that began almost a year ago.

During his first speech before the Federal Assembly since the start of the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Putin pointed out that Ukraine and the Donbas region, in the east of the country, "have become a symbol of real lies ". He has thus referred to the "hypocrisy" of the West for "withdrawing from fundamental agreements and expanding NATO" to its borders.

"I want to insist on this: they are to blame for the invasion, and we are trying to stop it," he asserted before adding that the country has done "everything possible to resolve the conflict peacefully." "We did everything possible to resolve it. We patiently held negotiations for a peaceful solution to this serious conflict, but behind our backs they were preparing another scenario," he said during his state of the nation address delivered at the Gostini Dvor convention center, in Moscow.

In this sense, he has stressed that it is "impossible to defeat Russia on the battlefield" and has lashed out at the US military presence around the world. "No country has as many military bases as they do, the entire planet is full of bases, you just have to look at a map," she pointed out.

"We are defending the people, our people, their homes. The West has spent 150,000 million dollars to help Kiev," he said, while stressing that Russia "will respond firmly to sending longer-range weapons to Ukraine" given attempts to "cause the disintegration" of Russia.

Likewise, he has warned that "the flow of money for the war does not stop" and has regretted that other countries are being encouraged to participate in the conflict. "All this is to make us forget about what the West has done for the last decades. (...) The West fights against us militarily, propagandistically and economically, but they have not achieved results so far," she has maintained.

That is why he has highlighted that the conflicts promoted by Western countries have left thousands dead and millions of refugees, something that "they want us to forget". "With so many victims and tragedies, the West is not paying attention. They are stealing, talking about democracy. They want to impose their totalitarian values," he continued.

Putin has pointed out that this is how "they seek to hide their own corruption, their own problems" and has asked not to forget that "in the 1930s, the West opened the way for the Nazis in Germany." "Now he is turning this project into Ukraine. This project has its roots in the Austro-Hungarian empire with a single idea, that of removing and breaking the ties of our country with historical territories, such as Ukraine," he has qualified.

The Russian president has stressed that Western countries "supported the 2014 coup in Ukraine", which he has described as "bloody". "They use symbols full of blood and nobody pays attention to this because they don't care as long as they fight against Russia. They are ready to use everything, even the devil himself," he added.

Putin has expressed that the war in Ukraine has made the Ukrainian people "a hostage to Kiev and the Westerners" and has stated that the "anti-Russia project is a revenge project that has led to the creation of conflict groups near our border".

On this issue, he stressed that "the West is making an effort to take the conflict to a global dimension" and pointed out that the increase in violence "has been caused by the Western elites and the Kiev regime, which is also guilty". . "It is a regime that no longer serves the people but third countries," he declared.

"The longer the range of Ukrainian weapons, the more we will have to justify our borders," he warned shortly before insisting that the country "strongly opposes the division of the world into supposedly civilized and uncivilized countries."

The president, who has thanked the Russians for their "courage and courage" and has guaranteed that "the reconstruction of the new Russian regions will be accelerated", has defended that the country "is not only fighting for its interests but for the idea that in The contemporary world does not fit a division of this type".

Before the guests at the event, including members of both parliamentary chambers and the Government, as well as people who have fought in Ukraine, Putin has announced the creation of a fund to support war veterans and the families of the fallen during the invasion and has indicated that innovations will be applied to the Armed Forces that "will surpass those of other countries."

The Russian president, who has taken the opportunity to defend "Russia's economic stability in the face of pressure from the West" and has defended that the sanctions "are not working", has also attacked the "lies" of the leaders of the international community to the "young generations". "They modify historical factors, they attack our culture, our Orthodox Church. They destroy families, they want to destroy identity," he pointed out.

"Pedophilia becomes a rule of life and priests are obliged to bless homosexual marriages. Older people can do what they want, private life is not subject to our influence, we do not intend to control it, but we must say "It comes in the sacred writings of all religions. The family is a union of a man and a woman. But these sacred texts, at this time, are questioned," he criticized the idea of ​​"defending children."

Putin's previous speech before Parliament took place in April 2021. Last year, the Russian leader broke the tradition of making his annual state of the nation address, citing the need to further analyze the latest events so far. .