Putin's New Year's speech

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 31 Dec 2022 by Alex Teddy
On December 31 the president delivered his traditional New Year TV address. He spoke from a military base near Ukraine. He was visiting troops including foreign volunteers in the Russian Army. The president awarded medals. He said that 2022 was ''pivotal''. He said Russia was fighting for ''true independence.'' Putin reiterated the claim that the occupied territories are Russian. He claimed that Russia is morally right and was obliged to either fight or surrender. Putin lamented what he called the ''Western sanctions war on Russia'' but said that it had failed. On the TV address a Georgian in the Russian Army forecast victory in 2023 and invoked nostalgia in the USSR. Russia likes to prove that not all Georgians are against it. Putin met General Sergei Surovikin who is in charge of the Ukraine Campaign.  Russian TV opinion formers said in 2021 that Russia could take Kyiv in 2 days. The war has now entered its 11 month and Russian troops are nowhere near Kyiv. There are no fireworks in Moscow for New Year. That is because the city is donating the money allocated to celebrations to frontline soldiers. New Year is a bigger party in Russia than Christmas. However, there are plenty of revelers on the street.  Russia bombarded Ukraine with missiles and drones on December 31. Ukraine said it is getting better at air defense and destroyed over 70% of the drones.

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