Correspondent in Moscow
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Thirty-seven minutes of speech mixing anti-Western diatribe and messianic anthem celebrating "great historical Russia".
A rush of vindictive and revanchist declarations interrupted ten times by the applause of hundreds of regime dignitaries gathered in the immense Saint-Georges hall of the Kremlin.
As expected, Vladimir Putin orchestrated with great fanfare on Friday the signing of the attachment to Russia of four regions of Ukraine, or about 20% of its territory.
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A ceremony which continued with a “patriotic party” on Red Square, where thousands of people had been transported by bus
“Together forever”
, could we read on the giant stage installed under the walls of the Kremlin.
Vladimir Putin made an appearance there.
“Russia opens its heart.
Welcome home,”
Vladimir Putin said.
Artists and rock bands in favor of the “special military operation” in Ukraine followed one another there while the presenters competed in dithyrambs on the
“great multinational Russia”
and love.
Russia calls on kyiv to immediately cease fire and return to the negotiating table
Vladimir Poutine
“ Historic
events
” – according to the federal channel Pervy Kanal – which came three days after referendums hastily organized in these warring territories and described as
“masquerades”
by Kiev and its Western supporters
.
“Nothing is stronger than the determination of millions of people (…) who consider themselves part of Russia
,” the Russian president said on Friday about the annexation of the regions of Kherson, Zaporizhia as well as “ democratic republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk.
If the official results of the referendums were close to 99% of "yes", only a minority of voters voted, or were able to vote, in regions from which hundreds of thousands of refugees had to flee.
Seated in the front row, the four leaders of these territories - which Moscow does not currently fully control - signed the annexation documents in turn before taking each other by the hands and chanting
"Russia!"
in unison with the room.
This declaration of annexation was immediately rejected by the European Union and by Joe Biden who called it
“fraudulent”
.
“We will recognize it, never, never”
, had hammered, already the day before, the American president.
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“People living in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson become our citizens. Forever”
, affirmed Mr. Putin to mean that the decisions ratified yesterday were non-negotiable
.
“Russia calls on Kiev to immediately cease fire and return to the negotiating table
,” the head of the Kremlin declared a few moments earlier.
An invitation, immediately refused by kyiv, which made it known that no discussion was possible as long as Vladimir Putin was in power.
Ukraine will continue to
“liberate its lands and its people,”
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba reacted in Kiev on Friday.
Friday in the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin did not mention the "difficult" military situation for the Russians, according to the leaders of the "annexed" territories in particular.
Hence also the impression of witnessing a parareality show, with its gold and its pomp, while at the same time the push of the Ukrainian forces continues, in particular around Lyman, in the east of the country, where the Russians are threatened with encirclement
.
“Victory will be ours
,” was content to launch Mr. Putin in Red Square.
Previously, in St. George's Hall, he once again raised the nuclear threat, saying that the
“Russian Federation will defend its territory with all available forces and means”
.
However, from now on, the four annexed territories are indeed part of Russia… (Defending it)
“it is the great liberating mission of our people”,
added Vladimir Putin.
And to make, a little later, another heavy allusion
: “The United States is the only country in the world to have used nuclear weapons twice.
They set a precedent…”
Charge against the “collective West”
The body of the speech took the form of a charge against the "collective West" - Putin's antiphon and "base" of the Kremlin's ideology - heavily laced with vitriol this Friday.
“They don't want us to be free, they want to see us as a colony.
They don't want equal cooperation but plunder, they don't want to see us as a free society but as a crowd of soulless slaves
,” Putin said.
By attacking the
“hegemonism”
, the
“hypocrisy”
, and the
“neocolonialism
” of Western countries.
In addition to the words, it was also necessary to hear the tone and see the expressions of the speaker to gauge the aggressiveness of his speech.
“The United States lies like Goebbels”
, released Mr. Putin, accusing Washington of impoverishing the Old Continent,
"which the European elites understand very well"
.
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"Vladimir Poutine wanted to separate the marriage and the burial"
, commented an opponent at the end of the day.
Clearly, he suggested, the “operational” consequences of this discourse will soon follow
.
“There is now no more special military operation but a war to defend our territory”
, we heard on Friday on
Pervy Kanal
.
