Nazi scum, sanctions and the destruction of world order. What did Putin say at the cosmodrome?

About what is happening in Ukraine

“What happened in Ukraine is undoubtedly a tragedy. But Alexander Grigorievich [Лукашенко] rightly so – there is no other choice. There just wasn’t an option. The only question was when it would start,” he said.

The president pointed out that there were Nazi forces in Ukraine, an “inevitable” conflict.

“Now in the Ukrainian newsreel we see people with SS stripes standing in the war zone in Donbass. This shows that when we started the operation, we did the right thing and on time. Otherwise, there would be even more of them. Conflict is inevitable in Ukraine with the forces nurtured and fed by the West, with ultra-nationalists and neo-Nazis in Ukraine. It’s only a matter of time now, they’re getting ready and waiting in the wings. And like I said, we won’t let them do that. This is the logic of our actions,” said Putin.

At the same time, he explained that what happened should not be perceived through the prism of the current “tragic events” in Ukraine and Donbass, but with the understanding that all these were a turning point in the world order that developed after the collapse. of the USSR.

“Today, the unipolar world system that developed after the collapse of the Soviet Union is collapsing. That’s the important thing. “The real issue is not the tragic events in Donbass and Ukraine,” he said.

According to him, now the West is not sincerely trying to help Ukraine. He wants to use this country for his own purposes. The President of the Russian Federation urged Ukrainians to pay attention to this.

“People standing [на Украине] SS “Galicia” in striped military uniform, these are just scumbags. But there are others who sympathize with them, who do not see themselves as Nazis, who see themselves as nationalists. But they also need to understand that the real aim is not Western aid to Ukraine. “Ukraine is a means to achieve goals that have nothing to do with the interests of the Ukrainian people,” said Putin.

He warned that the United States was indeed “ready to fight Russia to the last Ukrainian”.

The President especially drew attention to the merits of the Russian soldiers currently fighting in Ukraine. He pointed out that these soldiers protect the interests of the homeland.

“First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the Russian soldiers and officers, the soldiers of Russia, for the heroism and courage they showed while serving our Motherland. And that’s exactly it. “Our soldiers, who undertake difficult and dangerous missions in the Donbass, Ukraine, protect Russia’s interests, protect Russia,” Putin said.

He added that Russia will act “rhythmically and calmly according to the plan originally proposed by the General Staff” in Ukraine. According to Putin, Russia can act faster in Ukraine, but this will lead to greater losses.

“As for the course of the operation. I often hear the question: Is it possible to go faster? Can it. It depends on the intensity of the fight. And the intensity of the hostilities, unfortunately, is somehow connected with losses. Our task is to achieve all the targets set, to minimize these losses,” he said.

Putin also drew attention to the fact that Ukraine left the Istanbul agreements in the negotiations with Russia and put the process in a dead end.

“Now the need for security is one thing. The issues of regulating relations with Crimea, Sevastopol and Donbass are also excluded from the scope of these agreements. So again we are back in a dead end for ourselves and for all of us,” he said.

True, he added, Kyiv has recently changed something in its position.

“Last night it was said that the Ukrainian side changed things again. I am not aware of these changes. However, such inconsistencies on fundamental issues create some difficulties in reaching final agreements that everyone on the negotiation path can accept. And this will continue until the military operation is fully completed and the tasks set at the beginning of this operation are solved,” he said.

about fraternal peoples

Putin said that Ukrainians are a brotherly people for Russians even in today’s tragic conditions.

“As strange as it may sound today, I have always said this, we are a tripartite nation: Ukraine, Belarus and Russia,” said Putin.

He added that Russia has always treated Belarus as a brother. “This is how we have always treated Belarus, and nothing has changed here in recent months. We had no doubt that if there was anyone to support us, it would be Belarus. This has always been the case throughout our centuries-old common history.”

On Russia’s ability to withstand sanctions

“The Russian economy is quite stable and efficient. “Although the risks may increase in the medium and long term, the dollar rate returned to parameters before the operation began,” Putin said.

According to him, the “blitzkrieg” sanctions, on which Russia’s “malicious persons” trusted, “did not take place”.

“The Russian economy and financial system turned out to be on pretty solid feet. I think this trend towards the protection of macroeconomic indicators with the calm, rhythmic and professional work of the economic bloc will make itself felt in the near future.

At the same time, the Russian leader noted that there are risks associated with logistics and settlements. “Obviously,” Putin added.

The president acknowledged that “in some sectors this will not be easy”. But as he promised, “we will meet these challenges.”

Separately, the President of Russia stressed that the current rate of the Central Bank (April 8, the Central Bank reduced the key rate from 20% to 17% and allowed further reductions) corresponds to the prevailing macroeconomic indicators.

“There are problems, otherwise the Central Bank interest rate could not rise to 20%. As you know, the Central Bank has decided to lower this key rate and this is in line with the evolving macroeconomic parameters,” he said.

He also drew attention to the need to allocate additional resources to support certain sectors in Russia and reduce the level of bureaucracy in the economy.

“We understand that we need to dedicate additional resources to support industries. We understand that the best solution in the current situation is to free the economy from bureaucracy and create conditions for the growth of new industries based on newly created logistics chains. In this context, I can say that I trust the growth of small and medium-sized businesses, the initiative from below.”

The President noted that recently Russia has become too “connected” to foreign technologies and has stopped developing its own technology. Cooperation is good, but as practice shows, relying too much on Western materials is not worth it, Putin said.

“Of course, we are interested in collaborating with high-tech economies. These are obvious things. Everything is clear here. But what’s the problem? During this cooperation, we became attached to foreign technologies, foreign high-tech products, stopped developing our competencies and engineering schools. And it turns out that within the framework of the system in the global economy, actions and steps outside the rules discussed in the public are possible.”

As an example, he cited the situation on the MS-21 aircraft. This is a model of Russian passenger aircraft, which should rival its foreign counterparts. Initially, the MS-21 was scheduled to go into mass production in 2019. However, the date was postponed due to sanctions.

Putin noted that as soon as Russia began to move forward in the development of this aircraft, the West immediately stopped the supply of materials necessary for production. According to the president, this was done on purpose to slow down the project and prevent his Russian counterpart from overtaking the Boeing plane.

“As soon as we moved forward with this high-tech product and on our own, we immediately slapped and closed composite materials. For no reason. For what? Just so we can slow down and our product doesn’t hit the market faster than Boeing. That’s all the rules,” explained Putin.

As the president summarized, the Russian economy will certainly adapt to the new reality.

“The economy will definitely adapt to the new situation. You can’t charter a ship, you can’t charter another ship, you can’t ship to a country – you can go to a third, you can’t buy from there – you can do it in a fourth country. This is inevitable. “The world today is more complex than it was during the Cold War when there were two blocs,” Putin said.

On the impact of anti-Russian sanctions on the West itself

“Everybody in the world is now connected, and if the West “makes the situation worse”, Putin said, the authors of the sanctions would shoot themselves.

“All these are linked to chains that are very difficult to solve today and are not created by us, but if our partners today aggravate the situation in the financial sector, insurance, transport, including maritime transport, the situation will only get worse. for them. After all, insufficient food or excessively high prices in world markets will lead to hunger in all parts of the world. “This is inevitable, the next step is new waves of immigration, including from European countries,” said Putin.

He especially drew attention to the increase in fertilizer and food prices. Putin warned that the volume of Russian and Belarusian fertilizers on the world market will decrease if the West does not end sanctions.

“Our industry will find where to put all this, I assure you, because many countries that we do not classify as hostile are interested in obtaining Russian and Belarusian fertilizers, without which productive agriculture would not be possible. And if it can’t be productive [сельского] “The economy will not have enough food in the world at that time in the world markets,” he said.

Putin said he hopes “common sense” will triumph in the West. “It is better for those who impose unreasonable restrictions to come to their minds in time and make calm, correct, balanced decisions without losing their face,” said the President.

According to him, some people are now trying to maintain their dominance in the economy, but that will not work.

Separately, Putin warned that the Russian people will only recover in times of hardship, but unrest could begin in foreign countries due to the deteriorating economic situation.

“Anti-Russian hysteria is making itself felt. But time will put everything in its place. I can assure you, when people are faced with rising gas prices, rising food prices, rising inflation <...> Unprecedented increase in inflation! This will be reflected in the internal political processes. They wanted everything that happened in reality to be reflected in the internal political processes in the Russian Federation. They always miscalculate, they do not realize that in difficult conditions the Russian people, the Russian people, are always united. They will see. It is inevitable that they will have their own problems,” he said.