World

Putin Says Russia Is Battling ‘Strange’ Western Elites


President Vladimir V. Putin on Thursday declared that Russia’s battle is with “Western elites,” not with the West itself, in a speech that appears to be aimed at winning over mainstream conservatives. rule abroad rather than its own citizens.

Mr. Putin, speaking at an annual foreign policy conference outside Moscow, appeared intent on taking advantage of the political divisions in the United States and its allies that have only grown since they began providing military aid. for Ukraine to resist the Russian invasion.

Many of the themes of the Russian leader are familiar, but they resonate especially given the impending midterm elections in the United States and growing discontent in Europe about the cost of the war.

“There are at least two Wests.

One, he said, is the West of “traditional, mostly Christian values” with which Russians feel kinship. But, he said, “there is another West – belligerent, cosmopolitan, neo-colonial, acting as a weapon of the neoliberal class,” and attempting to impose “quite strange” values. its on others. He made his remarks with references to “dozens of genders” and “gay parades”.

Mr. Putin, as usual, portrays Russia as being threatened by NATO’s ability to expand – and the values ​​of liberal democracy – to countries like Ukraine that were once part of the Soviet Union.

He denied that Moscow was prepared to use nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine. “We don’t need to do this,” he said. “It makes no sense for us, politically or militarily.”

However, it was Putin who made that vision, as did other senior Russian officials. And the Kremlin’s previous assurances of its intentions have proven unreliable. For example, in the days before the war began, Russia denied that it planned to invade Ukraine.

“This is a hoax – it shouldn’t make anyone relax,” said Tatiana Stanovaya, a Russian political analyst, noting that Putin blamed the West and the country’s support. this for an independent Ukraine for any escalation in the war. “His goal is to show that escalation is the product of Western policies.”

In his nearly four-hour long question-and-answer speech and question and answer, the Russian leader made no mention of the US midterm elections taking place on November 8th, but his slurs to him with “elite” is a reminder that he still hopes to build alliances with Russia’s supporters in the West.

In the United States, Republican leaders have said that if they regain control of the House and Senate, President Biden can no longer expect a “blank check” when it comes to sending military aid. for Ukraine, though strong popular support for that aid. Even some Democrats, facing opposition, have distanced themselves from support for the war effort.

And Putin’s attack on “elite” could also work in the United States, where many Republican candidates have rallied voters by denouncing leaders they perceive as relevant and their liberal approach to divisive social issues.

“In the United States,” he said, “there is a very large segment of the public that upholds traditional values ​​and they are with us. We know about this.”

Mr. Putin’s efforts to gain political standing in the West come as his troops are struggling – often unsuccessfully – to hold onto territory they have captured in Ukraine after the 24th invasion. February.

In a question-and-answer session, the event-regulating foreign policy analyst, Fyodor Lukyanov, highlighted Putin on those failures and said it was widely held that Russia had “underestimated the enemy.” .

“Honestly, society doesn’t understand – what’s the plan?” asked Mr. Lukyanov.

Putin brushed aside implicit criticism, saying Ukraine’s fierce resistance showed he was right to launch the invasion. The longer Russia waited, he said, “the worse it was for us, the more difficult and dangerous it was.”

Putin also repeated Russia’s claim that Ukraine was preparing to detonate a “dirty bomb” to spread radioactive material over its territory and then blamed Moscow. Ukraine and the West say the claims – for which Russia has provided no evidence – are baseless misinformation that could be used by the Kremlin with nuclear weapons or dirty bombs as an excuse to use nuclear weapons. .

Stanovaya, the political analyst, said Mr Putin appeared to be trying to exploit anti-establishment sentiment around the world.

“There is a feeling now that he is building an anti-Western coalition on a global scale,” she said. “He doesn’t think he’s been backed into a corner. He considers himself a witness to the birth of a new world.”

Putin himself said he was confident that eventually, the West would force Russia and other world powers into negotiating a future world order.

“I have always believed and believed in the power of reason,” Putin said. “Therefore, I believe that sooner or later, the new centers of the multipolar world order and the West will have to start an equal conversation.”

As Western leaders tried to punish Moscow for the war with devastating sanctions, Russian leaders sought to build new relationships with other nations and strengthen ties. now available. On Thursday, the government of one of those countries, China, an increasingly important ally, gave a strong endorsement of Putin’s leadership.

In a phone call with his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that any attempt to stop progress between the two countries would never be successful, the Chinese ministry said in a statement.

In Ukraine on Thursday, Russian forces pursued their drone and missile attacks on infrastructure, leaving hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians powerless. And the Ukrainian military says it is increasing the number of troops near its northern border with Belarus, where it has noted what it considers to be unusual troop movements.

Brig. General Oleksii Hromov said Kyiv has no new evidence that Belarusian or Russian forces are preparing an offensive force, but concerns have grown in recent days after the Kremlin send thousands of soldiers to Belarus.

Moscow used Belarus, its closest military and political ally, to help carry out the invasion of Ukraine, and the movements of Russian troops there are closely monitored by Ukraine and its Western allies.

The Ukrainian government has issued extensive statements in recent weeks indicating that it is aware of the threat of an attack from that direction, with the military release a video recently warned that “if the Belarusian military supports Russian aggression,” Kyiv will respond “with our entire arsenal.”

But of more immediate concern to Ukrainian officials is Belarus’ continued use as a launchpad for air attacks.

General Hromov said that Russia has deployed its troops to airports in Belarus, and this week it used Belarusian territory to carry out 10 launches of Iranian-made drones.

Report contributed by Eric Nagourney, Ivan Nechepurenko, Marc Santora, Carly Olson and Dan Bilefsky.

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