BBC News:
“There’s nothing in the world stronger than our love for the motherland,” Putin declared at the end of his address, with the final words: “To our victory, Hoorah!”
The themes were predictable, linking today’s fight with Ukraine’s “criminal regime” with the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Civilisation was at a decisive turning point, he claimed, as Russia sought to protect people in eastern Ukraine and ensure its security. Those words will ring hollow in the Ukrainian cities that have been reduced to bombed-out wrecks, its populations forced to flee Russia’s onslaught.
And while he used the words “real war”, it was not one that Russia was waging, it was one he claimed had been unleashed on Russia.
This wasn’t unlike last year’s speech, although in 2022 he made a brief attempt to blame Nato and the US for what became “necessary… and right”.
Certainly he did attack the West in this short address, accusing it of sowing hatred against Russia and even destroying family values.
But the emphasis here was on Russian pride of its military taking part in the “special military operation”, whether they were on the front line, supplying the front or treating the wounded.
