Putin: West’s Economic Blitzkrieg Has Failed

Date: 12 April 2022 - 22:03

News ID: ۱۰۱۵۷۱

LONDON (Dispatches) -- President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday vowed Russia would triumph in all of its “noble” war aims in Ukraine, using his first public comments on the conflict in a week to goad the West for failing to bring Moscow to heel with an economic Blitzkrieg.
Addressing the war in public for the first time since Russian forces retreated from northern Ukraine after they were halted at the gates of Kiev, Putin said the situation in Ukraine was a tragedy.
However Russia had no choice but fight, he said, because it had to defend the Russian speakers of eastern Ukraine and prevent its former Soviet neighbor from becoming an anti-Russian springboard for Moscow’s enemies.
Sixty one years to the day since the Soviet Union’s Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space, Putin was shown by state television on a visit to the Vostochny Cosmodrome 3,450 miles (5550 km) east of Moscow.
Asked by Russian space agency workers if the operation in Ukraine would achieve its goals, Putin said: “Absolutely. I don’t have any doubt at all.”
“Its goals are absolutely clear and noble,” Putin said. “There is no doubt that the goals will be achieved.”
“That Blitzkrieg on which our foes were counting on did not work,” Putin said of the West’s crippling sanctions imposed after Putin’s Feb. 24 order for a “special operation” in Ukraine.
“We don’t intend to be isolated,” Putin said. “It is impossible to severely isolate anyone in the modern world - especially such a vast country as Russia.”
Putin, who says Ukraine and Russia are essentially one people, casts the war as an inevitable confrontation with the United States which he says was threatening Russia by meddling in its backyard.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov repeated Russia’s warning against further expansion of the NATO military alliance, saying the alliance remains “a tool of confrontation”.
Addressing a press conference in Moscow, Peskov said the plan

for Sweden and Finland to join the military alliance would not bring stability to Europe.

He blasted NATO as “a tool geared towards confrontation and its further expansion will not bring stability to the European continent”.

His remarks came after a senior U.S. State Department official said the prospects of two European countries joining NATO were discussed between top diplomats from the alliance in Brussels last week.

According to a report by The Times, Finland and Sweden look poised to join the alliance as soon as summer. Finland’s application is expected in June, with Sweden expected to follow.

UK: All Options on the Table

The UK on Tuesday accused Russian forces of using chemical weapons in their operation in the city of Mariupol in Ukraine.

British armed forces minister James Heappey said that all options remained on the table for London if Moscow used any chemical weapons against Ukraine.

The warning came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed in a televised address that Russia could resort to chemical weapons as it amassed troops in the eastern Donbas region.

Eduard Basurin, a rebel commander, rejected the allegations of using chemical weapons and told the Interfax news agency on Tuesday that Russian-backed forces did not use any such weapons in the city of Mariupol.

Zelensky Pleads for More Weapons

Zelensky also pleaded for weapons and military equipment from Western countries to fend off an expected Russian offensive in the east.

Russian troops were aiming to take control of the city of Mariupol on Tuesday, part of an anticipated massive military operation across eastern Ukraine.

According to Myhaylo Podolyak, an official from Zelensky’s office, Ukrainian forces were “surrounded and blocked” by Russian forces in Mariupol.

Ukraine’s defense ministry said it believed a major attack was imminent in the east of the country.

Sanctions Unsuccessful

EU foreign ministers’ discussions on the sixth round of sanctions ended without a consensus.

“Nothing is off the table, including sanctions on oil and gas,” said Josep Borrell, the European Union’s top diplomat, stressing that “no decision was taken” in the foreign ministers’ meeting.

The U.S. has sought to pressure Putin to withdraw his forces by banning Russian oil and gas and encouraging allies to follow suit.

In an effort to block the purchase of Russian energy, President Joe Biden held a virtual meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.

China and India have refrained from sanctioning Russia.

Since sanctions were imposed on Russian energy, India has bought at least 13 million barrels of Russian crude oil compared to 16 million barrels for the whole of last year.

France Expels Russian Diplomats

The French government expelled six Russian diplomats, accusing them of working as spies under diplomatic disguise, the country’s foreign ministry said.

French intelligence services uncovered “a clandestine operation” on its territory by the Russian intelligence services, it said.

On April 4, the French government announced expelled 35 Russian diplomats as part of a joint European action after the start of Moscow’s operation in Ukraine.

Many European countries have expelled Russian diplomats in recent weeks in a bid to put further pressure on Moscow to halt its military operation in Ukraine.