“The priority is to preserve people’s lives and allow the arrival of humanitarian aid. (…) We are ready to open Russian hospitals there. » Would Vladimir Putin seek appeasement in Ukraine? No: the ” over there “ in question concerns the Gaza Strip, where the situation is “catastrophic”according to the Russian president, who goes so far as to make a comparison: “Look at the special military operation [en Ukraine] and look at what is happening in Gaza and see the difference. There is nothing like this in Ukraine. »
This detour into the Middle East, after less than an hour of a television marathon which lasted more than four, Thursday December 14, sends a clear message: that of a country which intends to play the leading roles on the world stage, ” go forward “as Mr. Putin formulated in the first seconds of his speech, and refuses to see himself bogged down in Ukraine.
Moreover, the situation on the front is good, according to the Kremlin leader’s summary: “The enemy has announced a major counter-offensive. Nothing worked. (…) Along almost the entire length of the front, our forces are improving their positions. » As for the positions taken by the Ukrainian army on the left bank of the Dnieper, in the Kherson region, they will, he assured, ” Soon “ liquidated.
“Sufficient safety margin”
The simple holding of this traditional major end-of-year television show, canceled in 2022 and which combined a press conference and discussions with citizens, constituted in itself a signal. Vladimir Putin is in a better position today than a year ago, and he believes that time is now on his side. Although its army made no strategic gains on the ground, it effectively held out against the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the summer and, more generally, Moscow withstood the shocks caused by the war.
Russia has a “sufficient safety margin” due to the “strong consolidation of Russian society”of the “stability of the country’s financial and economic system” and of “increasing military capabilities” of the country, Mr. Putin insisted, immediately drowning viewers, as he likes to do, with flattering economic statistics.
With this confidence displayed, the Russian leader reaffirmed that his objectives remained unchanged. “I remind you what we talked about: the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine, its neutral status”he listed, adding that the solution “will be negotiated or obtained by force”. According to him, 617,000 soldiers are currently deployed on the Ukrainian front, including 244,000 citizens enrolled during the mobilization ” partial “ from September 2022.
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