English subtitles for clip: File:Voice of Vladimir Putin (24.2.2022).ogg
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1 00:00:00,966 --> 00:00:03,574 President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Citizens of Russia, 2 00:00:05,044 --> 00:00:06,689 friends, 3 00:00:07,355 --> 00:00:11,240 I consider it necessary today 4 00:00:11,287 --> 00:00:17,491 to speak again about the tragic events in Donbass 5 00:00:17,510 --> 00:00:22,278 and the key aspects of ensuring the security of Russia. 6 00:00:24,313 --> 00:00:30,386 I will begin with what I said in my address on February 21, 2022. 7 00:00:31,072 --> 00:00:36,269 I spoke about our biggest concerns and worries, 8 00:00:36,746 --> 00:00:41,928 and about the fundamental threats which irresponsible Western politicians 9 00:00:41,981 --> 00:00:47,144 created for Russia consistently, rudely and unceremoniously 10 00:00:47,187 --> 00:00:49,303 from year to year. 11 00:00:50,206 --> 00:00:54,305 I am referring to the eastward expansion of NATO, 12 00:00:54,321 --> 00:00:57,314 which is moving its military infrastructure 13 00:00:57,361 --> 00:00:59,481 ever closer to the Russian border. 14 00:01:00,167 --> 00:01:05,744 It is a fact that over the past 30 years we have been patiently trying 15 00:01:05,779 --> 00:01:08,508 to come to an agreement with the leading NATO countries 16 00:01:08,545 --> 00:01:12,514 regarding the principles of equal and indivisible security in Europe. 17 00:01:13,169 --> 00:01:15,487 In response to our proposals, 18 00:01:15,514 --> 00:01:20,312 we invariably faced either cynical deception and lies 19 00:01:20,725 --> 00:01:23,951 or attempts at pressure and blackmail, 20 00:01:24,526 --> 00:01:27,718 while the North Atlantic alliance 21 00:01:27,765 --> 00:01:33,770 unstoppably continued to expand despite our protests and concerns. 22 00:01:34,265 --> 00:01:37,243 Its military machine is moving 23 00:01:37,291 --> 00:01:42,525 and, as I said, is approaching our very border. 24 00:01:45,047 --> 00:01:47,227 Why is this happening? 25 00:01:47,468 --> 00:01:49,470 Where did this insolent manner 26 00:01:49,502 --> 00:01:54,715 of talking down from the height of their exceptionalism, infallibility 27 00:01:54,746 --> 00:01:56,750 and all-permissiveness come from? 28 00:01:57,427 --> 00:01:59,529 What is the explanation for this contemptuous 29 00:01:59,549 --> 00:02:04,056 and disdainful attitude to our interests and absolutely legitimate demands? 30 00:02:05,507 --> 00:02:09,269 The answer is simple. Everything is clear and obvious. 31 00:02:09,905 --> 00:02:14,840 In the late 1980s, the Soviet Union grew weaker 32 00:02:15,257 --> 00:02:17,776 and subsequently broke apart. 33 00:02:18,189 --> 00:02:23,810 That experience should serve as a good lesson for us, 34 00:02:24,281 --> 00:02:29,295 because it has shown us that the paralysis of power and will 35 00:02:29,307 --> 00:02:33,274 is the first step towards complete degradation and oblivion. 36 00:02:34,003 --> 00:02:39,287 We lost confidence for only one moment, 37 00:02:40,256 --> 00:02:44,563 but it was enough to disrupt the balance of forces in the world. 38 00:02:45,176 --> 00:02:50,822 As a result, the old treaties and agreements are no longer effective. 39 00:02:51,259 --> 00:02:54,270 Entreaties and requests do not help. 40 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:59,183 Anything that does not suit the dominant state, the powers that be, 41 00:02:59,217 --> 00:03:03,333 is denounced as archaic, obsolete and useless. 42 00:03:03,853 --> 00:03:07,299 At the same time, everything it regards as useful 43 00:03:07,353 --> 00:03:10,484 is presented as the ultimate truth 44 00:03:11,113 --> 00:03:13,284 and forced on others regardless of the cost, 45 00:03:13,318 --> 00:03:15,356 abusively and by any means available. 46 00:03:15,819 --> 00:03:19,233 Those who refuse to comply are subjected to strong-arm tactics. 47 00:03:19,725 --> 00:03:22,701 What I am saying now does not concerns only Russia, 48 00:03:22,755 --> 00:03:25,680 and Russia is not the only country that is worried about this. 49 00:03:25,810 --> 00:03:29,527 This has to do with the entire system of international relations, 50 00:03:29,575 --> 00:03:33,450 and sometimes even US allies. 51 00:03:34,753 --> 00:03:39,629 The collapse of the Soviet Union led to a redivision of the world, 52 00:03:39,634 --> 00:03:43,749 and the norms of international law that developed by that time – 53 00:03:43,789 --> 00:03:46,442 and the most important of them, the fundamental norms 54 00:03:46,486 --> 00:03:51,765 that were adopted following WWII and largely formalised its outcome – 55 00:03:51,805 --> 00:03:56,551 came in the way of those who declared themselves the winners of the Cold War. 56 00:03:57,424 --> 00:04:03,661 Of course, practice, international relations and the rules regulating them 57 00:04:03,727 --> 00:04:08,077 had to take into account the changes that took place in the world 58 00:04:08,124 --> 00:04:10,288 and in the balance of forces. 59 00:04:10,484 --> 00:04:15,224 However, this should have been done professionally, smoothly, patiently, 60 00:04:15,270 --> 00:04:18,556 and with due regard and respect for the interests of all states 61 00:04:19,002 --> 00:04:22,512 and one’s own responsibility. 62 00:04:22,959 --> 00:04:26,161 Instead, we saw a state of euphoria 63 00:04:26,179 --> 00:04:28,750 created by the feeling of absolute superiority, 64 00:04:28,766 --> 00:04:31,918 a kind of modern absolutism, 65 00:04:31,973 --> 00:04:38,767 coupled with the low cultural standards and arrogance of those who formulated 66 00:04:38,784 --> 00:04:42,283 and pushed through decisions that suited only themselves. 67 00:04:42,772 --> 00:04:46,283 The situation took a different turn. 68 00:04:47,222 --> 00:04:49,550 There are many examples of this. 69 00:04:49,692 --> 00:04:53,264 First a bloody military operation was waged against Belgrade, 70 00:04:53,313 --> 00:04:58,700 without the UN Security Council’s sanction 71 00:04:58,734 --> 00:05:03,807 but with combat aircraft and missiles used in the heart of Europe. 72 00:05:04,613 --> 00:05:09,118 The bombing of peaceful cities and vital infrastructure 73 00:05:09,146 --> 00:05:12,053 went on for several weeks. 74 00:05:13,388 --> 00:05:16,446 I have to recall these facts, 75 00:05:16,490 --> 00:05:20,748 because some Western colleagues prefer to forget them, 76 00:05:20,781 --> 00:05:22,695 and when we mentioned the event, 77 00:05:22,731 --> 00:05:26,712 they prefer to avoid speaking about international law, 78 00:05:26,743 --> 00:05:28,884 instead emphasising the circumstances 79 00:05:28,917 --> 00:05:32,564 which they interpret as they think necessary. 80 00:05:33,848 --> 00:05:37,527 Then came the turn of Iraq, Libya and Syria. 81 00:05:38,236 --> 00:05:41,286 The illegal use of military power against Libya 82 00:05:41,347 --> 00:05:45,632 and the distortion of all the UN Security Council decisions on Libya 83 00:05:45,665 --> 00:05:48,441 ruined the state, 84 00:05:48,473 --> 00:05:52,544 created a huge seat of international terrorism, 85 00:05:52,578 --> 00:05:56,499 and pushed the country towards a humanitarian catastrophe, 86 00:05:56,515 --> 00:06:00,822 into the vortex of a civil war, which has continued there for years. 87 00:06:02,041 --> 00:06:04,217 The tragedy, which was created 88 00:06:04,249 --> 00:06:06,892 for hundreds of thousands and even millions of people 89 00:06:06,939 --> 00:06:11,510 not only in Libya but in the whole region, has led to a large-scale exodus 90 00:06:11,543 --> 00:06:14,530 from the Middle East and North Africa to Europe. 91 00:06:15,540 --> 00:06:18,122 A similar fate was also prepared for Syria. 92 00:06:18,658 --> 00:06:22,087 The combat operations conducted by the Western coalition in that country 93 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:26,095 without the Syrian government’s approval or UN Security Council’s sanction 94 00:06:26,136 --> 00:06:29,799 can only be defined as aggression and intervention. 95 00:06:31,305 --> 00:06:35,214 But the example that stands apart from the above events is, 96 00:06:35,239 --> 00:06:40,093 of course, the invasion of Iraq without any legal grounds. 97 00:06:40,523 --> 00:06:43,705 They used the pretext of allegedly reliable information 98 00:06:43,721 --> 00:06:46,015 available in the United States 99 00:06:46,054 --> 00:06:49,391 about the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq 100 00:06:50,208 --> 00:06:54,396 To prove that allegation, the US Secretary of State held up a vial with white power, 101 00:06:54,435 --> 00:06:58,705 publicly, for the whole world to see, assuring the international community 102 00:06:58,722 --> 00:07:03,902 that it was a chemical warfare agent created in Iraq. 103 00:07:05,016 --> 00:07:08,254 It later turned out that all of that was a fake 104 00:07:08,273 --> 00:07:12,567 and a sham, and that Iraq did not have any chemical weapons. 105 00:07:13,739 --> 00:07:18,314 Incredible and shocking but true. 106 00:07:18,507 --> 00:07:23,425 We witnessed lies made at the highest state level 107 00:07:23,439 --> 00:07:25,899 and voiced from the high UN rostrum. 108 00:07:26,477 --> 00:07:29,876 As a result we see a tremendous loss in human life, damage, destruction, 109 00:07:29,907 --> 00:07:32,139 and a colossal upsurge of terrorism. 110 00:07:32,585 --> 00:07:37,265 Overall, it appears that nearly everywhere, in many regions of the world 111 00:07:37,297 --> 00:07:40,135 where the United States brought its law and order, 112 00:07:40,163 --> 00:07:43,701 this created bloody, non-healing wounds 113 00:07:43,746 --> 00:07:46,788 and the curse of international terrorism and extremism. 114 00:07:48,514 --> 00:07:51,760 I have only mentioned the most glaring 115 00:07:51,793 --> 00:07:55,533 but far from only examples of disregard for international law. 116 00:07:56,328 --> 00:08:02,510 This array includes promises not to expand NATO eastwards even by an inch. 117 00:08:03,238 --> 00:08:05,434 To reiterate: they have deceived us, 118 00:08:05,493 --> 00:08:08,828 or, to put it simply, they have played us. 119 00:08:10,382 --> 00:08:14,278 Sure, one often hears that politics is a dirty business. 120 00:08:14,597 --> 00:08:19,282 It could be, but it shouldn’t be as dirty as it is now, not to such an extent. 121 00:08:19,333 --> 00:08:21,307 This type of con-artist behaviour 122 00:08:21,328 --> 00:08:24,777 is contrary not only to the principles of international relations 123 00:08:24,792 --> 00:08:29,142 but also and above all to the generally accepted norms of morality and ethics. 124 00:08:29,504 --> 00:08:32,257 Where is justice and truth here? 125 00:08:32,837 --> 00:08:36,789 Just lies and hypocrisy all around. 126 00:08:37,496 --> 00:08:41,739 Incidentally, US politicians, political scientists and journalists 127 00:08:41,765 --> 00:08:45,917 write and say that a veritable “empire of lies” has been created 128 00:08:45,933 --> 00:08:48,899 inside the United States in recent years. 129 00:08:49,656 --> 00:08:52,254 It is hard to disagree with this – 130 00:08:52,301 --> 00:08:54,260 it is really so. 131 00:08:55,013 --> 00:08:59,075 But one should not be modest about it: the United States is still a great country 132 00:08:59,126 --> 00:09:01,347 and a system-forming power. 133 00:09:01,425 --> 00:09:06,060 All its satellites not only humbly and obediently say yes to 134 00:09:06,117 --> 00:09:10,239 and parrot it at the slightest pretext but also imitate its behaviour 135 00:09:10,268 --> 00:09:13,620 and enthusiastically accept the rules it is offering them. 136 00:09:14,466 --> 00:09:17,825 Therefore, one can say with good reason and confidence 137 00:09:17,864 --> 00:09:20,242 that the whole so-called Western bloc 138 00:09:20,283 --> 00:09:23,500 formed by the United States in its own image and likeness is, 139 00:09:23,548 --> 00:09:27,408 in its entirety, the very same “empire of lies.” 140 00:09:28,773 --> 00:09:33,059 As for our country, after the disintegration of the USSR, 141 00:09:33,092 --> 00:09:36,766 given the entire unprecedented openness of the new, modern Russia, 142 00:09:36,783 --> 00:09:39,271 its readiness to work honestly with the United States 143 00:09:39,286 --> 00:09:41,178 and other Western partners, 144 00:09:41,229 --> 00:09:43,892 and its practically unilateral disarmament, 145 00:09:43,921 --> 00:09:46,685 they immediately tried to put the final squeeze on us, 146 00:09:46,733 --> 00:09:50,779 finish us off, and utterly destroy us. 147 00:09:50,809 --> 00:09:55,446 This is how it was in the 1990s and the early 2000s, 148 00:09:55,501 --> 00:10:01,411 when the so-called collective West was actively supporting separatism 149 00:10:01,470 --> 00:10:03,738 and gangs of mercenaries in southern Russia. 150 00:10:04,444 --> 00:10:08,799 What victims, what losses we had to sustain 151 00:10:09,318 --> 00:10:12,050 and what trials we had to go through at that time 152 00:10:12,079 --> 00:10:16,942 before we broke the back of international terrorism in the Caucasus! 153 00:10:18,398 --> 00:10:22,214 We remember this and will never forget. 154 00:10:23,527 --> 00:10:26,857 Properly speaking, the attempts to use us in their own interests 155 00:10:26,901 --> 00:10:29,274 never ceased until quite recently: 156 00:10:29,319 --> 00:10:34,311 they sought to destroy our traditional values and force on us their false values 157 00:10:34,338 --> 00:10:38,046 that would erode us, our people from within, 158 00:10:38,422 --> 00:10:43,121 the attitudes they have been aggressively imposing on their countries, 159 00:10:43,132 --> 00:10:46,440 attitudes that are directly leading to degradation and degeneration, 160 00:10:46,461 --> 00:10:49,529 because they are contrary to human nature. 161 00:10:50,062 --> 00:10:51,705 This is not going to happen. 162 00:10:51,761 --> 00:10:55,199 No one has ever succeeded in doing this, 163 00:10:55,229 --> 00:10:57,513 nor will they succeed now. 164 00:10:58,779 --> 00:11:04,242 Despite all that, in December 2021, we made yet another attempt 165 00:11:04,268 --> 00:11:07,968 to reach agreement with the United States and its allies 166 00:11:07,992 --> 00:11:13,027 on the principles of European security and NATO’s non-expansion. 167 00:11:14,210 --> 00:11:15,748 Our efforts were in vain. 168 00:11:15,776 --> 00:11:18,283 The United States has not changed its position. 169 00:11:18,362 --> 00:11:20,891 It does not believe it necessary to agree with Russia 170 00:11:20,916 --> 00:11:23,349 on a matter that is critical for us. 171 00:11:23,524 --> 00:11:26,030 The United States is pursuing its own objectives, 172 00:11:26,043 --> 00:11:27,785 while neglecting our interests. 173 00:11:27,948 --> 00:11:30,540 Of course, this situation begs a question: 174 00:11:30,577 --> 00:11:33,454 what next, what are we to expect? 175 00:11:34,254 --> 00:11:35,957 If history is any guide, we know 176 00:11:36,019 --> 00:11:41,348 that in 1940 and early 1941 the Soviet Union 177 00:11:41,410 --> 00:11:45,836 went to great lengths to prevent war or at least delay its outbreak. 178 00:11:46,465 --> 00:11:49,759 To this end, the USSR sought not to provoke 179 00:11:49,792 --> 00:11:52,508 the potential aggressor until the very end 180 00:11:52,544 --> 00:11:57,257 by refraining or postponing the most urgent and obvious preparations 181 00:11:57,279 --> 00:12:00,366 it had to make to defend itself from an imminent attack. 182 00:12:00,803 --> 00:12:04,271 When it finally acted, 183 00:12:04,318 --> 00:12:06,591 it was too late. 184 00:12:07,515 --> 00:12:10,105 As a result, the country was not prepared 185 00:12:10,166 --> 00:12:13,453 to counter the invasion by Nazi Germany, 186 00:12:13,491 --> 00:12:20,015 which attacked our Motherland on June 22, 1941, without declaring war. 187 00:12:21,023 --> 00:12:24,741 The country stopped the enemy and went on to defeat it, 188 00:12:24,766 --> 00:12:26,525 but this came at a tremendous cost. 189 00:12:26,925 --> 00:12:30,788 The attempt to appease the aggressor ahead of the Great Patriotic War 190 00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:35,075 proved to be a mistake which came at a high cost for our people. 191 00:12:35,242 --> 00:12:37,680 In the first months after the hostilities broke out, 192 00:12:37,700 --> 00:12:42,118 we lost vast territories of strategic importance, as well as millions of lives. 193 00:12:42,897 --> 00:12:46,436 We will not make this mistake the second time. 194 00:12:46,478 --> 00:12:48,283 We have no right to do so. 195 00:12:48,608 --> 00:12:50,837 Those who aspire to global dominance 196 00:12:50,881 --> 00:12:53,237 have publicly designated Russia as their enemy. 197 00:12:53,266 --> 00:12:55,206 They did so with impunity. 198 00:12:55,245 --> 00:12:58,244 Make no mistake, they had no reason to act this way. 199 00:12:58,684 --> 00:13:01,917 It is true that they have considerable financial, 200 00:13:01,982 --> 00:13:05,629 scientific, technological, and military capabilities. 201 00:13:06,491 --> 00:13:09,290 We are aware of this and have an objective view 202 00:13:09,310 --> 00:13:13,501 of the economic threats we have been hearing, 203 00:13:13,535 --> 00:13:19,561 just as our ability to counter this brash and never-ending blackmail. 204 00:13:20,455 --> 00:13:23,462 Let me reiterate that we have no illusions in this regard 205 00:13:23,477 --> 00:13:25,814 and are extremely realistic in our assessments. 206 00:13:26,541 --> 00:13:30,517 As for military affairs, even after the dissolution of the USSR 207 00:13:30,570 --> 00:13:35,718 and losing a considerable part of its capabilities, 208 00:13:35,769 --> 00:13:39,720 today’s Russia remains one of the most powerful nuclear states. 209 00:13:40,089 --> 00:13:46,192 Moreover, it has a certain advantage in several cutting-edge weapons. 210 00:13:46,974 --> 00:13:49,890 In this context, there should be no doubt for anyone 211 00:13:49,925 --> 00:13:55,295 that any potential aggressor will face defeat and ominous consequences 212 00:13:55,325 --> 00:13:58,284 should it directly attack our country. 213 00:13:59,868 --> 00:14:03,345 At the same time, technology, including in the defence sector, 214 00:14:03,375 --> 00:14:05,043 is changing rapidly. 215 00:14:05,494 --> 00:14:09,535 One day there is one leader, and tomorrow another, 216 00:14:09,596 --> 00:14:13,490 but a military presence in territories bordering on Russia, 217 00:14:13,540 --> 00:14:18,519 if we permit it to go ahead, will stay for decades to come 218 00:14:18,554 --> 00:14:21,494 or maybe forever, 219 00:14:21,527 --> 00:14:25,249 creating an ever mounting 220 00:14:25,286 --> 00:14:27,546 and totally unacceptable threat for Russia. 221 00:14:28,286 --> 00:14:30,507 Even now, with NATO’s eastward expansion 222 00:14:30,539 --> 00:14:35,273 the situation for Russia has been becoming worse and more dangerous by the year. 223 00:14:35,821 --> 00:14:39,313 Moreover, these past days NATO leadership has been blunt in its statements 224 00:14:39,336 --> 00:14:42,246 that they need to accelerate and step up efforts 225 00:14:42,263 --> 00:14:45,618 to bring the alliance’s infrastructure closer to Russia’s borders. 226 00:14:46,086 --> 00:14:49,888 In other words, they have been toughening their position. 227 00:14:50,752 --> 00:14:55,150 We cannot stay idle and passively observe these developments. 228 00:14:55,801 --> 00:14:59,590 This would be an absolutely irresponsible thing to do for us. 229 00:15:00,385 --> 00:15:03,940 Any further expansion of the North Atlantic alliance’s infrastructure 230 00:15:03,961 --> 00:15:07,591 or the ongoing efforts to gain military foothold of the Ukrainian territory 231 00:15:07,607 --> 00:15:09,359 are unacceptable for us. 232 00:15:09,707 --> 00:15:12,125 Of course, the question is not about NATO itself. 233 00:15:12,147 --> 00:15:14,585 It merely serves as a tool of US foreign policy. 234 00:15:15,087 --> 00:15:18,449 The problem is that in territories adjacent to Russia, 235 00:15:18,500 --> 00:15:21,234 which I have to note is our historical land, 236 00:15:21,272 --> 00:15:24,239 a hostile “anti-Russia” is taking shape. 237 00:15:24,482 --> 00:15:27,825 Fully controlled from the outside, 238 00:15:27,863 --> 00:15:31,797 it is doing everything to attract NATO armed forces 239 00:15:31,816 --> 00:15:34,838 and obtain cutting-edge weapons. 240 00:15:35,767 --> 00:15:40,735 For the United States and its allies, it is a policy of containing Russia, 241 00:15:40,780 --> 00:15:43,318 with obvious geopolitical dividends. 242 00:15:43,396 --> 00:15:48,190 For our country, it is a matter of life and death, 243 00:15:48,220 --> 00:15:51,316 a matter of our historical future as a nation. 244 00:15:51,772 --> 00:15:54,731 This is not an exaggeration; this is a fact! 245 00:15:54,775 --> 00:15:58,136 It is not only a very real threat to our interests 246 00:15:58,179 --> 00:16:01,927 but to the very existence of our state and to its sovereignty. 247 00:16:02,268 --> 00:16:07,152 It is the red line which we have spoken about on numerous occasions. 248 00:16:08,445 --> 00:16:10,536 They have crossed it. 249 00:16:11,272 --> 00:16:14,811 This brings me to the situation in Donbass. 250 00:16:15,524 --> 00:16:21,030 We can see that the forces that staged the coup in Ukraine in 2014 251 00:16:21,042 --> 00:16:23,502 have seized power, are keeping it 252 00:16:23,518 --> 00:16:26,524 with the help of ornamental election procedures 253 00:16:26,540 --> 00:16:30,260 and have abandoned the path of a peaceful conflict settlement. 254 00:16:31,296 --> 00:16:36,289 For eight years, for eight endless years we have been doing everything possible 255 00:16:36,328 --> 00:16:40,748 to settle the situation by peaceful political means. 256 00:16:40,821 --> 00:16:42,544 Everything was in vain. 257 00:16:42,715 --> 00:16:46,226 As I said in my previous address, 258 00:16:46,252 --> 00:16:49,814 you cannot look without compassion at what is happening there. 259 00:16:50,570 --> 00:16:53,780 It became impossible to tolerate it. 260 00:16:53,826 --> 00:16:56,795 We had to stop that atrocity, 261 00:16:56,851 --> 00:17:00,023 that genocide of the millions of people who live there 262 00:17:00,058 --> 00:17:02,995 and who pinned their hopes on Russia, 263 00:17:03,049 --> 00:17:06,271 on all of us only. 264 00:17:07,744 --> 00:17:11,790 It is their aspirations, the feelings and pain of these people 265 00:17:11,810 --> 00:17:14,467 that were the main motivating force behind our decision 266 00:17:14,497 --> 00:17:17,509 to recognise the independence of the Donbass people’s republics. 267 00:17:18,778 --> 00:17:21,556 I would like to additionally emphasise the following. 268 00:17:22,866 --> 00:17:26,734 Focused on their own goals, the leading NATO countries 269 00:17:26,793 --> 00:17:31,230 are supporting the far-right nationalists and neo-Nazis in Ukraine, 270 00:17:31,292 --> 00:17:35,783 those who will never forgive the people of Crimea and Sevastopol 271 00:17:35,819 --> 00:17:39,303 for freely making a choice to reunite with Russia. 272 00:17:39,791 --> 00:17:42,281 They will undoubtedly try to bring war to Crimea 273 00:17:43,267 --> 00:17:47,787 just as they have done in Donbass, to kill innocent people 274 00:17:47,803 --> 00:17:52,504 just as members of the punitive units of Ukrainian nationalists 275 00:17:52,543 --> 00:17:56,264 and Hitler’s accomplices did during the Great Patriotic War 276 00:17:57,229 --> 00:18:02,532 They have also openly laid claim to several other Russian regions. 277 00:18:04,262 --> 00:18:09,239 If we look at the sequence of events and the incoming reports, 278 00:18:09,269 --> 00:18:13,463 the showdown between Russia and these forces cannot be avoided. 279 00:18:13,707 --> 00:18:15,734 It is only a matter of time. 280 00:18:15,780 --> 00:18:19,567 They are getting ready and waiting for the right moment. 281 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:24,288 Moreover, they went as far as aspire to acquire nuclear weapons. 282 00:18:25,041 --> 00:18:27,781 We will not let this happen. 283 00:18:28,542 --> 00:18:32,516 I have already said that Russia accepted the new geopolitical reality 284 00:18:32,547 --> 00:18:34,858 after the dissolution of the USSR. 285 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:37,516 We have been treating all new post-Soviet states 286 00:18:37,555 --> 00:18:41,794 with respect and will continue to act this way. 287 00:18:42,506 --> 00:18:45,550 We respect and will respect their sovereignty, 288 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:49,777 as proven by the assistance we provided to Kazakhstan 289 00:18:49,822 --> 00:18:52,518 when it faced tragic events 290 00:18:52,551 --> 00:18:55,829 and a challenge in terms of its statehood and integrity. 291 00:18:56,556 --> 00:18:59,724 However, Russia cannot feel safe, 292 00:18:59,746 --> 00:19:03,205 develop, and exist while facing a permanent threat 293 00:19:03,266 --> 00:19:05,576 from the territory of today’s Ukraine. 294 00:19:06,285 --> 00:19:10,880 Let me remind you that in 2000–2005 295 00:19:10,905 --> 00:19:14,374 we used our military to push back against terrorists in the Caucasus 296 00:19:14,396 --> 00:19:17,037 and stood up for the integrity of our state. 297 00:19:17,057 --> 00:19:18,821 We preserved Russia. 298 00:19:19,304 --> 00:19:23,795 In 2014, we supported the people of Crimea and Sevastopol. 299 00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:29,257 In 2015, we used our Armed Forces to create a reliable shield 300 00:19:29,304 --> 00:19:33,359 that prevented terrorists from Syria from penetrating Russia. 301 00:19:33,790 --> 00:19:37,121 This was a matter of defending ourselves. We had no other choice. 302 00:19:37,539 --> 00:19:40,531 The same is happening today. 303 00:19:41,270 --> 00:19:46,752 They did not leave us any other option for defending Russia and our people, 304 00:19:46,799 --> 00:19:51,036 other than the one we are forced to use today. 305 00:19:52,754 --> 00:19:56,845 In these circumstances, we have to take bold and immediate action. 306 00:19:57,552 --> 00:20:02,052 The people’s republics of Donbass have asked Russia for help. 307 00:20:03,133 --> 00:20:04,561 In this context, 308 00:20:04,605 --> 00:20:09,061 in accordance with Article 51 (Chapter VII) of the UN Charter, 309 00:20:09,088 --> 00:20:11,771 with permission of Russia’s Federation Council, 310 00:20:11,787 --> 00:20:15,205 and in execution of the treaties of friendship and mutual assistance 311 00:20:15,221 --> 00:20:19,228 with the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic, 312 00:20:19,258 --> 00:20:23,518 ratified by the Federal Assembly on February 22, 313 00:20:24,285 --> 00:20:29,291 I made a decision to carry out a special military operation. 314 00:20:31,162 --> 00:20:33,506 The purpose of this operation is to protect people 315 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:37,254 who, for eight years now, have been facing humiliation and genocide 316 00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:39,348 perpetrated by the Kiev regime. 317 00:20:39,937 --> 00:20:45,024 To this end, we will seek to demilitarise and denazify Ukraine, 318 00:20:45,476 --> 00:20:47,740 as well as bring to trial those 319 00:20:47,765 --> 00:20:52,487 who perpetrated numerous bloody crimes against civilians, 320 00:20:52,529 --> 00:20:55,534 including against citizens of the Russian Federation. 321 00:20:56,750 --> 00:21:00,497 It is not our plan to occupy the Ukrainian territory. 322 00:21:00,540 --> 00:21:03,764 We do not intend to impose anything on anyone by force. 323 00:21:04,771 --> 00:21:08,806 At the same time, we have been hearing an increasing number of statements 324 00:21:08,842 --> 00:21:13,490 coming from the West that there is no need any more to abide by the documents 325 00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:16,190 setting forth the outcomes of World War II, as signed 326 00:21:16,227 --> 00:21:18,491 by the totalitarian Soviet regime. 327 00:21:18,825 --> 00:21:21,249 How can we respond to that? 328 00:21:21,603 --> 00:21:24,130 The outcomes of World War II and the sacrifices 329 00:21:24,182 --> 00:21:28,888 our people had to make to defeat Nazism are sacred. 330 00:21:29,500 --> 00:21:33,276 This does not contradict the high values of human rights 331 00:21:33,786 --> 00:21:38,993 and freedoms in the reality that emerged over the post-war decades. 332 00:21:39,991 --> 00:21:43,630 This does not mean that nations cannot enjoy the right to self-determination, 333 00:21:43,658 --> 00:21:46,006 which is enshrined in Article 1 of the UN Charter. 334 00:21:46,182 --> 00:21:49,823 Let me remind you that the people living in territories 335 00:21:49,854 --> 00:21:55,467 which are part of today’s Ukraine were not asked how they want to build their lives 336 00:21:55,539 --> 00:22:00,752 when the USSR was created or after World War II. 337 00:22:01,511 --> 00:22:03,962 Freedom guides our policy, 338 00:22:03,989 --> 00:22:10,276 the freedom to choose independently our future and the future of our children. 339 00:22:10,513 --> 00:22:12,298 We believe 340 00:22:12,346 --> 00:22:16,813 that all the peoples living in today’s Ukraine, anyone who want to do this, 341 00:22:16,871 --> 00:22:21,274 must be able to enjoy this right to make a free choice. 342 00:22:22,221 --> 00:22:25,552 In this context I would like to address the citizens of Ukraine. 343 00:22:26,059 --> 00:22:30,759 In 2014, Russia was obliged to protect the people of Crimea and Sevastopol 344 00:22:30,798 --> 00:22:34,285 from those who you yourself call “nats.” 345 00:22:34,610 --> 00:22:37,408 The people of Crimea and Sevastopol made their choice 346 00:22:37,433 --> 00:22:40,463 in favour of being with their historical homeland, Russia, 347 00:22:40,483 --> 00:22:42,099 and we supported their choice. 348 00:22:42,250 --> 00:22:45,814 As I said, we could not act otherwise. 349 00:22:46,135 --> 00:22:48,589 The current events have nothing to do with a desire 350 00:22:48,612 --> 00:22:51,709 to infringe on the interests of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. 351 00:22:51,780 --> 00:22:54,144 They are connected with the defending Russia 352 00:22:54,177 --> 00:22:57,131 from those who have taken Ukraine hostage 353 00:22:57,165 --> 00:23:00,512 and are trying to use it against our country and our people. 354 00:23:01,244 --> 00:23:06,259 I reiterate: we are acting to defend ourselves from the threats created for us 355 00:23:06,829 --> 00:23:10,523 and from a worse peril than what is happening now. 356 00:23:11,020 --> 00:23:13,705 I am asking you, however hard this may be, 357 00:23:13,734 --> 00:23:16,438 to understand this and to work together with us 358 00:23:16,467 --> 00:23:19,720 so as to turn this tragic page as soon as possible 359 00:23:19,756 --> 00:23:22,141 and to move forward together, 360 00:23:22,183 --> 00:23:26,232 without allowing anyone to interfere in our affairs and our relations 361 00:23:26,269 --> 00:23:28,354 but developing them independently, 362 00:23:28,371 --> 00:23:33,460 so as to create favourable conditions for overcoming all these problems 363 00:23:33,502 --> 00:23:36,062 and to strengthen us from within as a single whole, 364 00:23:36,098 --> 00:23:39,336 despite the existence of state borders. 365 00:23:40,062 --> 00:23:44,226 I believe in this, in our common future. 366 00:23:45,281 --> 00:23:49,215 I would also like to address the military personnel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. 367 00:23:49,869 --> 00:23:51,618 Comrade officers, 368 00:23:51,819 --> 00:23:54,331 Your fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers 369 00:23:54,377 --> 00:23:58,766 did not fight the Nazi occupiers and did not defend our common Motherland 370 00:23:58,779 --> 00:24:02,268 to allow today’s neo-Nazis to seize power in Ukraine. 371 00:24:02,864 --> 00:24:06,040 You swore the oath of allegiance to the Ukrainian people 372 00:24:06,067 --> 00:24:09,444 and not to the junta, the people’s adversary which is plundering Ukraine 373 00:24:09,470 --> 00:24:11,691 and humiliating the Ukrainian people. 374 00:24:12,205 --> 00:24:14,821 I urge you to refuse to carry out their criminal orders. 375 00:24:15,120 --> 00:24:19,752 I urge you to immediately lay down arms and go home. 376 00:24:20,363 --> 00:24:21,948 I will explain what this means: 377 00:24:21,974 --> 00:24:25,793 all the military personnel of the Ukrainian army who do this 378 00:24:25,823 --> 00:24:29,195 will be able to freely leave the zone of hostilities 379 00:24:29,236 --> 00:24:31,777 and return to their families. 380 00:24:32,782 --> 00:24:35,095 I want to emphasise again 381 00:24:35,125 --> 00:24:37,972 that all responsibility for the possible bloodshed 382 00:24:38,002 --> 00:24:43,455 will lie fully and wholly with the ruling Ukrainian regime. 383 00:24:45,260 --> 00:24:49,381 I would now like to say something very important for those 384 00:24:49,426 --> 00:24:51,501 who may be tempted 385 00:24:51,531 --> 00:24:54,504 to interfere in these developments from the outside. 386 00:24:55,283 --> 00:24:57,238 No matter who tries to stand in our way 387 00:24:57,289 --> 00:25:01,476 or all the more so create threats for our country and our people, 388 00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:06,200 they must know that Russia will respond immediately, 389 00:25:06,241 --> 00:25:11,221 and the consequences will be such as you have never seen 390 00:25:11,254 --> 00:25:13,856 in your entire history. 391 00:25:14,837 --> 00:25:17,841 No matter how the events unfold, we are ready. 392 00:25:18,269 --> 00:25:22,114 All the necessary decisions in this regard have been taken. 393 00:25:22,733 --> 00:25:25,996 I hope that my words will be heard. 394 00:25:28,525 --> 00:25:30,776 Citizens of Russia, 395 00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:35,770 The culture and values, experience and traditions of our ancestors 396 00:25:35,804 --> 00:25:38,303 invariably provided a powerful underpinning 397 00:25:38,358 --> 00:25:43,510 for the wellbeing and the very existence of entire states and nations, 398 00:25:43,570 --> 00:25:45,919 their success and viability. 399 00:25:46,655 --> 00:25:49,449 Of course, this directly depends on the ability 400 00:25:49,497 --> 00:25:52,744 to quickly adapt to constant change, 401 00:25:52,782 --> 00:25:56,268 maintain social cohesion, and readiness to consolidate 402 00:25:56,296 --> 00:25:59,733 and summon all the available forces in order to move forward. 403 00:25:59,898 --> 00:26:02,904 We always need to be strong, always, 404 00:26:02,942 --> 00:26:05,844 but this strength can take on different forms. 405 00:26:07,216 --> 00:26:11,498 The “empire of lies,” which I mentioned in the beginning of my speech, 406 00:26:11,531 --> 00:26:15,622 proceeds in its policy primarily from rough, direct force. 407 00:26:15,726 --> 00:26:20,147 This is when our saying on being “all brawn and no brains” applies. 408 00:26:20,704 --> 00:26:25,049 We all know that having justice and truth on our side 409 00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:27,566 is what makes us truly strong. 410 00:26:28,110 --> 00:26:31,509 If this is the case, it would be hard to disagree 411 00:26:31,567 --> 00:26:35,200 with the fact that it is our strength and our readiness to fight 412 00:26:35,211 --> 00:26:38,763 that are the bedrock of independence and sovereignty 413 00:26:38,805 --> 00:26:41,524 and provide the necessary foundation 414 00:26:41,573 --> 00:26:45,227 for building a reliable future 415 00:26:45,269 --> 00:26:49,796 for your home, your family, and your Motherland. 416 00:26:52,188 --> 00:26:54,323 Dear compatriots, 417 00:26:54,481 --> 00:27:00,486 I am certain that devoted soldiers and officers of Russia’s Armed Forces 418 00:27:00,516 --> 00:27:05,279 will perform their duty with professionalism and courage. 419 00:27:05,487 --> 00:27:11,052 I have no doubt that the government institutions at all levels and specialists 420 00:27:11,090 --> 00:27:14,581 will work effectively to guarantee the stability of our economy, 421 00:27:14,609 --> 00:27:17,177 financial system and social wellbeing, 422 00:27:17,195 --> 00:27:20,950 the same applies to corporate executives and the entire business community. 423 00:27:21,721 --> 00:27:24,783 I hope that all parliamentary parties and civil society 424 00:27:24,806 --> 00:27:27,836 take a consolidated, patriotic position. 425 00:27:28,672 --> 00:27:32,205 At the end of the day, the future of Russia 426 00:27:32,236 --> 00:27:35,777 is in the hands of its multi-ethnic people, 427 00:27:35,808 --> 00:27:38,806 as has always been the case in our history. 428 00:27:39,253 --> 00:27:43,796 This means that the decisions that I made will be executed, 429 00:27:43,825 --> 00:27:46,727 that we will achieve the goals we have set, 430 00:27:46,759 --> 00:27:50,816 and reliably guarantee the security of our Motherland. 431 00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:53,638 I believe in your support 432 00:27:53,696 --> 00:27:55,777 and the invincible force 433 00:27:55,800 --> 00:28:00,306 rooted in the love for our Fatherland.