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At Putin News Conference, a Search for Signals on Ukraine Putin Blames the West for Talk of ‘War, War, War’
(about 2 hours later)
MOSCOW — MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia spoke in stark terms on Thursday of rising military tensions in Eastern Europe, saying that there was talk of “war, war, war,” but that Moscow was not to blame because it was defending historically Russian territories.
President Vladimir V. Putin focused on domestic issues like the economy and the coronavirus on Thursday in the early minutes of his annual news conference, which was being closely watched because of rising military tensions in Eastern Europe. Mr. Putin’s comments, at a traditional year-end news conference, were being closely watched after a drumbeat of warnings from Moscow about a potential escalation of military conflict in Ukraine. Two days earlier, Mr. Putin told a gathering of security officials that he was ready to take “military technical measures,” a reference to a possible use of force, if Russia’s security requests went unmet.
As reporters held up signs asking for comment on Russia’s deployment of troops near the Ukrainian border, Mr. Putin began his appearance by asserting that Russia had handled the economic challenges of the virus better than other major economies. He acknowledged a cost in lives lost and a drop in life expectancy last year. He also noted what he said were good economic indicators, including good results in construction and a good harvest. As he has before, the Russian leader placed blame for the tensions squarely on the West and Ukraine’s Western-leaning government, airing grievances going back years. But he also noted what he called a “positive” signal from the Biden administration that it was willing to hold talks on Russian security concerns starting in January.
What distinguished Mr. Putin’s comments on Thursday was their orientation to a domestic audience in a question-and-answer format broadcast live on Russian television channels. Western nations waited to see how he would portray the standoff over Ukraine and whether his comments suggested intentions to put the country on more of a war footing. Still, Mr. Putin said Russia would expect quick answers on its demands. “It was the United States that came with its rockets to our home, to the doorstep of our home,” he said of NATO expansion. “And you demand from me some guarantees. You should give us guarantees. You! And right away, right now.”
The United States intelligence agencies have said that Russia has tens of thousands of troops near the Ukrainian border, with plans to amass an invasion force of up to 175,000 soldiers. They have said it is not yet clear whether Mr. Putin has decided to invade. Mr. Putin’s comments largely echoed a list of demands laid out last week by Russian diplomats as Russian troops mass near the border with Ukraine.
Mr. Putin’s remarks were directed at a wide television audience in Russia, and he focused on what he described as threats to Russians and Russian speakers inside Ukraine.
“Now, they tell us, ‘war, war, war,’” Mr. Putin said of the West, conveying the sense that a Western-aligned Ukraine, not Russia, intended to set off conflict. “The impression is they are planning” a military operation, he said. “And we are warned in advance, ‘Don’t get involved, don’t meddle, don’t defend these people.’ If you defend, these sanctions will follow.”
Russia has already intervened militarily in Ukraine. After street protesters deposed a pro-Russia president in 2014, Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula and fomented a separatist uprising in two provinces in eastern Ukraine. At least 13,000 soldiers and civilians on both sides have died in a conflict that has continued on Ukraine’s eastern border.
As reporters held up signs asking for comment on Russia’s deployment of troops near the Ukrainian border, Mr. Putin began his appearance by focusing on domestic issues like the economy and the coronavirus. He asserted that Russia had handled the economic challenges of the virus better than other major economies, though he acknowledged a cost in lives lost and a drop in life expectancy last year. He also noted what he said were positive economic indicators, including good results in construction and a good harvest.
When finally asked for a “realistic prognosis” of whether Russians could expect a war this winter, Mr. Putin said he would try to answer “in a maximally short way,” but nonetheless laid out a historical justification for possible use of force, going back more than 100 years.
He argued that lands that should be seen as historically part of Russia were included in the Soviet-era boundaries of Ukraine. After the Soviet breakup, Mr. Putin said, Moscow acquiesced to their loss, so long as Ukraine was neutral. But he said Russia could not tolerate the basing of foreign militaries in these areas.
“They are creating on this territory an anti-Russia, with the constant sending over of contemporary weapons, brainwashing the population,” Mr. Putin said. “Imagine the historical perspective of Russia for living from now on, to be always looking over our shoulders, what is going on over there?”
He had argued similar points in an essay last summer, and in speeches since. What distinguished Mr. Putin’s comments on Thursday was their orientation to a domestic audience in a question-and-answer format broadcast live on Russian television channels.
United States intelligence agencies have said that Russia has tens of thousands of troops near the Ukrainian border, with plans to amass an invasion force of up to 175,000 soldiers. They have also said it is not yet clear whether Mr. Putin has decided to invade.
Russian diplomats detailed their demands on Eastern Europe — including a written pledge from NATO not to expand east — in two ultimatums last week directed at the United States and the alliance.Russian diplomats detailed their demands on Eastern Europe — including a written pledge from NATO not to expand east — in two ultimatums last week directed at the United States and the alliance.
The proposals suggested establishing a Cold War-style security arrangement in Europe based on spheres of influence. While NATO rejected the demand to close its doors to new members, the Biden administration has agreed to negotiate broadly on security issues starting in January, offering a possible path to unwinding the tensions. The proposals suggested establishing a Cold War-style security arrangement in Europe based on spheres of influence. While NATO rejected the demand to close its doors to new members, the Biden administration has agreed to negotiate broadly, offering a possible path to unwinding the tensions.
Analysts have also weighed the possibility that Mr. Putin is looking for concessions on a range of issues, even some not directly tied to security. These include energy and pipeline negotiations in Europe.Analysts have also weighed the possibility that Mr. Putin is looking for concessions on a range of issues, even some not directly tied to security. These include energy and pipeline negotiations in Europe.
That means that what Russia wants, exactly, has become something of a guessing game — leaving diplomats and security analysts hanging on every word from Mr. Putin this winter.That means that what Russia wants, exactly, has become something of a guessing game — leaving diplomats and security analysts hanging on every word from Mr. Putin this winter.
Mr. Putin’s marathon year-end news conferences are a longtime tradition, meant to demonstrate his stamina and authority as he answers questions for hours on end. They have also been a stage for policy pronouncements.Mr. Putin’s marathon year-end news conferences are a longtime tradition, meant to demonstrate his stamina and authority as he answers questions for hours on end. They have also been a stage for policy pronouncements.
The Russian leader in recent months has been outlining what he describes as historical grievances and betrayals by Western nations in the post-Soviet period that Moscow will no longer tolerate. Actions by NATO and the United States, he has suggested, have left Russia little choice but to threaten to use the military. Russia is obliged, he has said, to protect Russians left stranded outside the country by the breakup of the Soviet Union three decades ago. In his remarks on the pandemic, Mr. Putin said he had no plans to impose fines on or to criminally prosecute people hesitant to be vaccinated, though Russia has one of the lowest levels of vaccination in Europe, at 56 percent of the population. The government has not introduced vaccine mandates, and Mr. Putin said on Thursday that mandates would be counterproductive.
On Tuesday, in comments that appeared to suggest an imminent threat, Russia’s defense minister, Sergey K. Shoigu, said that American military contractors had appeared in eastern Ukraine, near two Russia-backed separatist regions, and that they had brought with them “an unknown chemical component.” “We need to relate to people with respect, despite their positions,” he said, “and to patiently explain” the need to inoculate.
But possibilities for an escalation abound. Mr. Putin, speaking at the same event with Mr. Shoigu on Tuesday, ruminated on the possibility that the United States had long-term plans to deploy hypersonic missiles in Ukraine, something that the United States has never suggested it intends to do. Possibilities for an escalation with Ukraine abound. Mr. Putin, speaking at an event with Defense Minister Sergey K. Shoigu on Tuesday, ruminated on the possibility that the United States had long-term plans to deploy hypersonic missiles in Ukraine, something that the United States has never suggested it intends to do.
“What they are now doing on the territory of Ukraine, or trying to do, or planning to do, is not thousands of kilometers from our national borders,” Mr. Putin said. “It’s on the doorstep of our home. They just have to understand that we have nowhere left to retreat.”“What they are now doing on the territory of Ukraine, or trying to do, or planning to do, is not thousands of kilometers from our national borders,” Mr. Putin said. “It’s on the doorstep of our home. They just have to understand that we have nowhere left to retreat.”
Anton Troianovski reported from Moscow, and Andrew E. Kramer from Kyiv, Ukraine.Anton Troianovski reported from Moscow, and Andrew E. Kramer from Kyiv, Ukraine.