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Citizens of Russia, friends,

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I consider it necessary today to speak again about the tragic events in Donbass

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 and the key aspects of ensuring the security of Russia.

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I will begin with what I said in my address on February 21, 2022.

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 I spoke about our biggest concerns and worries,

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and about the fundamental threats which irresponsible Western politicians created for Russia 

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consistently, rudely and unceremoniously from year to year.

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I am referring to the eastward expansion of NATO,

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which is moving its military infrastructure ever closer to the Russian border.

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It is a fact that over the past 30 years we have been patiently trying 

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to come to an agreement with the leading NATO countries 

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regarding the principles of equal and indivisible security in Europe.

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In response to our proposals, 

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we invariably faced either cynical deception and lies 

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or attempts at pressure and blackmail,

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while the North Atlantic alliance continued to expand 

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despite our protests and concerns.

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Its military machine is moving and, as I said,

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is approaching our very border.

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Why is this happening? Where did this insolent manner

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of talking down from the height of their exceptionalism,

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infallibility and all-permissiveness come from? 

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What is the explanation for this contemptuous and disdainful attitude 

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to our interests and absolutely legitimate demands?

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The answer is simple. Everything is clear and obvious.

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In the late 1980s, the Soviet Union grew weaker 

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and subsequently broke apart.

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That experience should serve as a good lesson for us,

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because it has shown us that the paralysis of power and will is 

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the first step towards complete degradation and oblivion.

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We lost confidence for only one moment,

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but it was enough to disrupt the balance of forces in the world.

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As a result, the old treaties and agreements are no longer effective.

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Entreaties and requests do not help.

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Anything that does not suit the dominant state, the powers that be,

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is denounced as archaic, obsolete and useless.

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At the same time, everything it regards as useful 

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is presented as the ultimate truth and forced on others 

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regardless of the cost, abusively and by any means available.

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Those who refuse to comply are subjected to strong-arm tactics.

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What I am saying now does not concerns only Russia,

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and Russia is not the only country that is worried about this.

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This has to do with the entire system of international relations,

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and sometimes even US allies.

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The collapse of the Soviet Union led to a redivision of the world,

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and the norms of international law that developed by that time –

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and the most important of them,

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the fundamental norms that were adopted following WWII

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 and largely formalised its outcome – 

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came in the way of those 

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who declared themselves the winners of the Cold War.

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Of course, practice, international relations and the rules regulating them 

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had to take into account the changes that took place in the world 

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and in the balance of forces.

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However, this should have been done professionally, smoothly, patiently,

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and with due regard and respect for the interests of all states 

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and one’s own responsibility.

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Instead, we saw a state of euphoria

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 created by the feeling of absolute superiority, 

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a kind of modern absolutism,

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coupled with the low cultural standards and arrogance of those

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 who formulated and pushed through decisions that suited only themselves.

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The situation took a different turn.

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There are many examples of this.

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First a bloody military operation was waged against Belgrade,

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without the UN Security Council’s sanction but with combat aircraft 

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and missiles used in the heart of Europe.

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The bombing of peaceful cities and vital infrastructure 

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went on for several weeks.

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I have to recall these facts, because some Western colleagues

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prefer to forget them, and when we mentioned the event,

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they prefer to avoid speaking about international law,

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instead emphasising the circumstances 

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which they interpret as they think necessary.

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Then came the turn of Iraq, Libya and Syria.

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The illegal use of military power against Libya 

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and the distortion of all the UN Security Council decisions on Libya 

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ruined the state, created a huge seat of international terrorism,

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and pushed the country towards a humanitarian catastrophe,

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into the vortex of a civil war,

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which has continued there for years.

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The tragedy, which was created for hundreds of thousands

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and even millions of people not only in Libya but in the whole region,

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has led to a large-scale exodus from the Middle East 

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and North Africa to Europe.

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A similar fate was also prepared for Syria.

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The combat operations conducted by the Western coalition in that country

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without the Syrian government’s approval or UN Security Council’s sanction 

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can only be defined as aggression and intervention.

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But the example that stands apart from the above events is, of course,

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the invasion of Iraq without any legal grounds.

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They used the pretext of allegedly reliable information 

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available in the United States about the presence of weapons 

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of mass  destruction in Iraq. 

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To prove that allegation,

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the US Secretary of State held up a vial with white power, publicly,

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for the whole world to see, assuring the international community

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that it was a chemical warfare agent created in Iraq.

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It later turned out that all of that was a fake and a sham,

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and that Iraq did not have any chemical weapons.

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Incredible and shocking but true.

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We witnessed lies made at the highest state level 

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and voiced from the high UN rostrum.

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As a result we see a tremendous loss in human life, damage,

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destruction, and a colossal upsurge of terrorism.

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Overall, it appears that nearly everywhere,

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in many regions of the world where the United States brought its law 

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and order, this created bloody,

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non-healing wounds and the curse of international terrorism 

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and extremism. I have only mentioned the most glaring but far from only 

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examples of disregard for international law.

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This array includes promises not to expand NATO eastwards 

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even by an inch. To reiterate: they have deceived us, or,

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to put it simply, they have played us.

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Sure, one often hears that politics is a dirty business.

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It could be, but it shouldn’t be as dirty as it is now,

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not to such an extent.

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This type of con-artist behaviour is contrary not only 

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to the principles of international relations but also and above all 

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to the generally accepted norms of morality and ethics.

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Where is justice and truth here? Just lies and hypocrisy all around.

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Incidentally, US politicians, political scientists and journalists 

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write and say that a veritable “empire of lies” has been created inside 

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the United States in recent years.

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It is hard to disagree with this –

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it is really so. But one should not be modest about it: the United 

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States is still a great country and a system-forming power.

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All its satellites not only humbly and obediently say yes to and parrot 

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it at the slightest pretext but also imitate its behaviour 

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and enthusiastically accept the rules it is offering them.

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Therefore, one can say with good reason and confidence that the whole 

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so-called Western bloc formed by the United States in its own image 

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and likeness is, in its entirety, the very same “empire of lies.”

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As for our country, after the disintegration of the USSR,

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given the entire unprecedented openness of the new, modern Russia,

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its readiness to work honestly with the United States and other Western 

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partners, and its practically unilateral disarmament,

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they immediately tried to put the final squeeze on us, finish us off,

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and utterly destroy us.

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This is how it was in the 1990s and the early 2000s,

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when the so-called collective West was actively supporting separatism 

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and gangs of mercenaries in southern Russia.

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What victims, what losses we had to sustain and what trials we had 

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to go through at that time before we broke the back of international 

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terrorism in the Caucasus! We remember this and will never forget.

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Properly speaking, the attempts to use us in their own interests never 

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ceased until quite recently: they sought to destroy our traditional 

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values and force on us their false values that would erode us,

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our people from within, the attitudes they have been aggressively 

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imposing on their countries, attitudes that are directly leading 

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to degradation and degeneration,

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because they are contrary to human nature. This is not going to happen.

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No one has ever succeeded in doing this, nor will they succeed now.

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Despite all that, in December 2021,

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we made yet another attempt to reach agreement with the United States 

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and its allies on the principles of European security 

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and NATO’s non-expansion. Our efforts were in vain.

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The United States has not changed its position.

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It does not believe it necessary to agree with Russia 

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on a matter that is critical for us.

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The United States is pursuing its own objectives,

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while neglecting our interests.

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Of course, this situation begs a question: what next,

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what are we to expect? If history is any guide,

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we know that in 1940 and early 1941 the Soviet Union went to great 

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lengths to prevent war or at least delay its outbreak.

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To this end, the USSR sought not to provoke the potential aggressor 

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until the very end by refraining or postponing the most urgent 

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and obvious preparations it had to make to defend itself 

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from an imminent attack. When it finally acted, it was too late.

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As a result, the country was not prepared to counter the invasion 

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by Nazi Germany, which attacked our Motherland on June 22,

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1941, without declaring war.

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The country stopped the enemy and went on to defeat it,

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but this came at a tremendous cost.

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The attempt to appease the aggressor ahead of the Great Patriotic War 

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proved to be a mistake which came at a high cost for our people.

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In the first months after the hostilities broke out,

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we lost vast territories of strategic importance,

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as well as millions of lives.

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We will not make this mistake the second time.

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We have no right to do so.

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Those who aspire to global dominance have publicly 

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designated Russia as their enemy. They did so with impunity.

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Make no mistake, they had no reason to act this way.

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It is true that they have considerable financial, scientific,

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technological, and military capabilities.

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We are aware of this and have an objective view of the economic threats 

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we have been hearing, just as our ability to counter this brash 

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and never-ending blackmail.

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Let me reiterate that we have no illusions in this regard and are 

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extremely realistic in our assessments.

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As for military affairs, even after the dissolution of the USSR 

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and losing a considerable part of its capabilities,

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today’s Russia remains one of the most powerful nuclear states.

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Moreover, it has a certain advantage in several cutting-edge weapons.

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In this context, there should be no doubt for anyone that any potential 

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aggressor will face defeat and ominous consequences should 

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it directly attack our country.

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At the same time, technology, including in the defence 

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sector, is changing rapidly.

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One day there is one leader, and tomorrow another,

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but a military presence in territories bordering on Russia,

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if we permit it to go ahead, will stay for decades to come or maybe 

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forever, creating an ever mounting and totally unacceptable 

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threat for Russia.

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Even now, with NATO’s eastward expansion the situation for Russia has 

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been becoming worse and more dangerous by the year.

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Moreover, these past days NATO leadership has been blunt in its 

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statements that they need to accelerate and step up efforts to bring 

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the alliance’s infrastructure closer to Russia’s borders.

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In other words, they have been toughening their position.

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We cannot stay idle and passively observe these developments.

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This would be an absolutely irresponsible thing to do for us.

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Any further expansion of the North Atlantic alliance’s infrastructure 

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or the ongoing efforts to gain a military foothold of the Ukrainian 

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territory are unacceptable for us.

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Of course, the question is not about NATO itself.

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It merely serves as a tool of US foreign policy.

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The problem is that in territories adjacent to Russia,

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which I have to note is our historical land,

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a hostile “anti-Russia” is taking shape.

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Fully controlled from the outside,

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it is doing everything to attract NATO armed forces 

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and obtain cutting-edge weapons.

230
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For the United States and its allies,

231
00:15:38.539 --> 00:15:40.995
it is a policy of containing Russia,

232
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with obvious geopolitical dividends.

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For our country, it is a matter of life and death,

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00:15:47.854 --> 00:15:51.630
a matter of our historical future as a nation.

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This is not an exaggeration; this is a fact.

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It is not only a very real threat to our interests but to the very 

237
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existence of our state and to its sovereignty.

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It is the red line which we have spoken about on numerous 

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occasions. They have crossed it.

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This brings me to the situation in Donbass.

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00:16:15.431 --> 00:16:21.046
We can see that the forces that staged the coup in Ukraine in 2014 have 

242
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seized power, are keeping it with the help of ornamental election 

243
00:16:26.032 --> 00:16:31.169
procedures and have abandoned the path of a peaceful conflict 

244
00:16:31.169 --> 00:16:36.080
settlement. For eight years, for eight endless years we have been doing 

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00:16:36.080 --> 00:16:39.323
everything possible to settle the situation by peaceful 

246
00:16:39.323 --> 00:16:42.699
political means. Everything was in vain.

247
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As I said in my previous address,

248
00:16:46.161 --> 00:16:49.777
you cannot look without compassion at what is happening there.

249
00:16:50.917 --> 00:16:54.083
It became impossible to tolerate it.

250
00:16:54.083 --> 00:17:00.281
We had to stop that atrocity, that genocide of the millions of people 

251
00:17:00.281 --> 00:17:04.591
who live there and who pinned their hopes on Russia,

252
00:17:04.591 --> 00:17:09.762
on all of us. It is their aspirations,

253
00:17:09.762 --> 00:17:14.180
the feelings and pain of these people that were the main motivating 

254
00:17:14.180 --> 00:17:15.580
force behind our decision to recognise the independence 

255
00:17:15.580 --> 00:17:17.473
of the Donbass people’s republics.

256
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I would like to additionally emphasise the following.

257
00:17:22.938 --> 00:17:27.969
Focused on their own goals, the leading NATO countries are supporting 

258
00:17:27.969 --> 00:17:31.422
the far-right nationalists and neo-Nazis in Ukraine,

259
00:17:31.422 --> 00:17:36.061
those who will never forgive the people of Crimea and Sevastopol 

260
00:17:36.061 --> 00:17:40.026
for freely making a choice to reunite with Russia.

261
00:17:40.026 --> 00:17:44.296
They will undoubtedly try to bring war to Crimea just as they have done 

262
00:17:44.296 --> 00:17:49.893
in Donbass, to kill innocent people just as members of the punitive 

263
00:17:49.893 --> 00:17:54.307
units of Ukrainian nationalists and Hitler’s accomplices did during 

264
00:17:54.307 --> 00:17:56.108
the Great Patriotic War.

265
00:17:57.388 --> 00:18:02.206
They have also openly laid claim to several other Russian regions.

266
00:18:04.206 --> 00:18:09.086
If we look at the sequence of events and the incoming reports,

267
00:18:09.086 --> 00:18:13.840
the showdown between Russia and these forces cannot be avoided.

268
00:18:13.840 --> 00:18:16.052
It is only a matter of time.

269
00:18:16.052 --> 00:18:20.437
They are getting ready and waiting for the right moment.

270
00:18:20.437 --> 00:18:23.421
Moreover, they went as far as aspire to acquire nuclear 

271
00:18:23.421 --> 00:18:28.338
weapons. We will not let this happen.

272
00:18:28.338 --> 00:18:32.730
I have already said that Russia accepted the new geopolitical reality 

273
00:18:32.730 --> 00:18:34.954
after the dissolution of the USSR.

274
00:18:34.954 --> 00:18:39.913
We have been treating all new post-Soviet states with respect and will 

275
00:18:39.913 --> 00:18:42.201
continue to act this way.

276
00:18:42.201 --> 00:18:45.553
We respect and will respect their sovereignty,

277
00:18:45.553 --> 00:18:50.886
as proven by the assistance we provided to Kazakhstan when it faced 

278
00:18:50.886 --> 00:18:56.428
tragic events and a challenge in terms of its statehood and integrity.

279
00:18:56.428 --> 00:19:00.736
However, Russia cannot feel safe, develop,

280
00:19:00.736 --> 00:19:03.933
and exist while facing a permanent threat from 

281
00:19:03.933 --> 00:19:06.639
the territory of today’s Ukraine.

282
00:19:06.639 --> 00:19:09.192
Let me remind you that in 2000–

283
00:19:09.192 --> 00:19:13.417
2005 we used our military to push back against terrorists 

284
00:19:13.417 --> 00:19:17.233
in the Caucasus and stood up for the integrity of our state.

285
00:19:17.233 --> 00:19:23.137
We preserved Russia. In 2014, we supported the people of Crimea 

286
00:19:23.137 --> 00:19:28.757
and Sevastopol. In 2015, we used our Armed Forces to create a reliable 

287
00:19:28.757 --> 00:19:33.769
shield that prevented terrorists from Syria from penetrating Russia.

288
00:19:33.769 --> 00:19:37.937
This was a matter of defending ourselves. We had no other choice.

289
00:19:37.937 --> 00:19:40.765
The same is happening today.

290
00:19:40.765 --> 00:19:45.878
They did not leave us any other option for defending Russia and our 

291
00:19:45.878 --> 00:19:50.478
people, other than the one we are forced to use today.

292
00:19:52.758 --> 00:19:57.852
In these circumstances, we have to take bold and immediate action.

293
00:19:57.852 --> 00:20:02.831
The people’s republics of Donbass have asked Russia for help.

294
00:20:02.831 --> 00:20:06.640
In this context, in accordance with Article 51 

295
00:20:06.640 --> 00:20:09.128
(Chapter VII) of the UN Charter,

296
00:20:09.128 --> 00:20:11.935
with permission of Russia’s Federation Council,

297
00:20:11.935 --> 00:20:17.170
and in execution of the treaties of friendship and mutual assistance 

298
00:20:17.170 --> 00:20:21.125
with the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic,

299
00:20:21.125 --> 00:20:24.360
ratified by the Federal Assembly on February 22,

300
00:20:24.360 --> 00:20:28.678
I made a decision to carry out a special military operation.

301
00:20:30.798 --> 00:20:33.803
The purpose of this operation is to protect people who,

302
00:20:33.803 --> 00:20:37.476
for eight years now, have been facing humiliation and genocide 

303
00:20:37.476 --> 00:20:39.881
perpetrated by the Kiev regime.

304
00:20:39.881 --> 00:20:45.225
To this end, we will seek to demilitarise and denazify Ukraine,

305
00:20:45.225 --> 00:20:51.482
as well as bring to trial those who perpetrated numerous bloody crimes 

306
00:20:51.482 --> 00:20:56.761
against civilians, including against citizens of the Russian Federation.

307
00:20:56.761 --> 00:21:00.622
It is not our plan to occupy the Ukrainian territory.

308
00:21:00.622 --> 00:21:04.893
We do not intend to impose anything on anyone by force.

309
00:21:04.893 --> 00:21:08.756
At the same time, we have been hearing an increasing number 

310
00:21:08.756 --> 00:21:12.935
of statements coming from the West that there is no need any more 

311
00:21:12.935 --> 00:21:16.400
to abide by the documents setting forth the outcomes of World War II,

312
00:21:16.400 --> 00:21:21.521
as signed by the totalitarian Soviet regime. How can we respond to that?

313
00:21:21.521 --> 00:21:25.890
The outcomes of World War II and the sacrifices our people had to make 

314
00:21:25.890 --> 00:21:28.945
to defeat Nazism are sacred.

315
00:21:28.945 --> 00:21:33.360
This does not contradict the high values of human rights and freedoms 

316
00:21:33.360 --> 00:21:38.958
in the reality that emerged over the post-war decades.

317
00:21:38.958 --> 00:21:41.915
This does not mean that nations cannot enjoy the right 

318
00:21:41.915 --> 00:21:44.225
to self-determination, which is enshrined in Article 1 

319
00:21:44.225 --> 00:21:46.149
of the UN Charter.

320
00:21:46.149 --> 00:21:51.145
Let me remind you that the people living in territories which are part 

321
00:21:51.145 --> 00:21:57.794
of today’s Ukraine were not asked how they want to build their lives 

322
00:21:57.794 --> 00:22:01.558
when the USSR was created or after World War II.

323
00:22:01.558 --> 00:22:07.654
Freedom guides our policy, the freedom to choose independently our 

324
00:22:07.654 --> 00:22:10.394
future and the future of our children.

325
00:22:10.394 --> 00:22:15.039
We believe that all the peoples living in today’s Ukraine,

326
00:22:15.039 --> 00:22:19.914
anyone who want to do this, must be able to enjoy this 

327
00:22:19.914 --> 00:22:21.554
right to make a free choice.

328
00:22:22.634 --> 00:22:26.168
In this context I would like to address the citizens of Ukraine.

329
00:22:26.168 --> 00:22:30.459
In 2014, Russia was obliged to protect the people of Crimea 

330
00:22:30.459 --> 00:22:34.582
and Sevastopol from those who you yourself call “nats.

331
00:22:34.582 --> 00:22:37.488
” The people of Crimea and Sevastopol made their choice in favour 

332
00:22:37.488 --> 00:22:40.721
of being with their historical homeland, Russia,

333
00:22:40.721 --> 00:22:46.272
and we supported their choice. As I said, we could not act otherwise.

334
00:22:46.272 --> 00:22:49.258
The current events have nothing to do with a desire to infringe 

335
00:22:49.258 --> 00:22:51.716
on the interests of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.

336
00:22:51.716 --> 00:22:55.432
They are connected with the defending Russia from those who have taken 

337
00:22:55.432 --> 00:22:59.232
Ukraine hostage and are trying to use it against our 

338
00:22:59.232 --> 00:23:01.425
country and our people.

339
00:23:01.425 --> 00:23:06.126
I reiterate: we are acting to defend ourselves from the threats created 

340
00:23:06.126 --> 00:23:10.825
for us and from a worse peril than what is happening now.

341
00:23:10.825 --> 00:23:13.423
I am asking you, however hard this may be,

342
00:23:13.423 --> 00:23:18.000
to understand this and to work together with us so as to turn this 

343
00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:22.224
tragic page as soon as possible and to move forward together,

344
00:23:22.224 --> 00:23:26.174
without allowing anyone to interfere in our affairs and our relations 

345
00:23:26.174 --> 00:23:28.685
but developing them independently,

346
00:23:28.685 --> 00:23:33.743
so as to create favourable conditions for overcoming all these problems 

347
00:23:33.743 --> 00:23:36.391
and to strengthen us from within as a single whole,

348
00:23:36.391 --> 00:23:39.916
despite the existence of state borders.

349
00:23:39.916 --> 00:23:45.054
I believe in this, in our common future.

350
00:23:45.054 --> 00:23:47.621
I would also like to address the military personnel 

351
00:23:47.621 --> 00:23:50.050
of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

352
00:23:50.050 --> 00:23:51.721
Comrade officers,

353
00:23:51.721 --> 00:23:55.884
Your fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers did not fight 

354
00:23:55.884 --> 00:23:59.376
the Nazi occupiers and did not defend our common Motherland to allow 

355
00:23:59.376 --> 00:24:03.134
today’s neo-Nazis to seize power in Ukraine.

356
00:24:03.134 --> 00:24:07.027
You swore the oath of allegiance to the Ukrainian people and not 

357
00:24:07.027 --> 00:24:09.867
to the junta, the people’s adversary which is plundering Ukraine 

358
00:24:09.867 --> 00:24:12.293
and humiliating the Ukrainian people.

359
00:24:12.293 --> 00:24:15.314
I urge you to refuse to carry out their criminal orders.

360
00:24:15.314 --> 00:24:20.360
I urge you to immediately lay down arms and go home.

361
00:24:20.360 --> 00:24:23.703
I will explain what this means: the military personnel of the Ukrainian 

362
00:24:23.703 --> 00:24:28.465
army who do this will be able to freely leave the zone 

363
00:24:28.465 --> 00:24:32.487
of hostilities and return to their families.

364
00:24:32.487 --> 00:24:37.249
I want to emphasise again that all responsibility for the possible 

365
00:24:37.249 --> 00:24:43.373
bloodshed will lie fully and wholly with the ruling Ukrainian regime.

366
00:24:45.093 --> 00:24:50.834
I would now like to say something very important for those who may be 

367
00:24:50.834 --> 00:24:55.427
tempted to interfere in these developments from the outside.

368
00:24:55.427 --> 00:24:58.870
No matter who tries to stand in our way or all the more so create 

369
00:24:58.870 --> 00:25:01.748
threats for our country and our people,

370
00:25:01.748 --> 00:25:06.213
they must know that Russia will respond immediately,

371
00:25:06.213 --> 00:25:11.999
and the consequences will be such as you have never seen 

372
00:25:11.999 --> 00:25:18.174
in your entire history. No matter how the events unfold,

373
00:25:18.174 --> 00:25:21.186
we are ready. All the necessary decisions in this regard have been 

374
00:25:21.186 --> 00:25:25.484
taken. I hope that my words will be heard.

375
00:25:28.664 --> 00:25:31.230
Citizens of Russia,

376
00:25:31.230 --> 00:25:35.865
The culture and values, experience and traditions of our ancestors 

377
00:25:35.865 --> 00:25:39.668
invariably provided a powerful underpinning for the wellbeing 

378
00:25:39.668 --> 00:25:43.672
and the very existence of entire states and nations,

379
00:25:43.672 --> 00:25:46.685
their success and viability.

380
00:25:46.685 --> 00:25:51.081
Of course, this directly depends on the ability to quickly adapt 

381
00:25:51.081 --> 00:25:54.491
to constant change, maintain social cohesion,

382
00:25:54.491 --> 00:25:57.824
and readiness to consolidate and summon all the available 

383
00:25:57.824 --> 00:26:00.247
forces in order to move forward.

384
00:26:00.247 --> 00:26:04.814
We always need to be strong, but this strength can take 

385
00:26:04.834 --> 00:26:09.366
on different forms. The “empire of lies,

386
00:26:09.366 --> 00:26:11.779
” which I mentioned in the beginning of my speech,

387
00:26:11.779 --> 00:26:13.885
proceeds in its policy primarily from rough,

388
00:26:13.885 --> 00:26:18.808
direct force. This is when our saying on being “all brawn 

389
00:26:18.808 --> 00:26:21.034
and no brains” applies.

390
00:26:21.034 --> 00:26:25.612
We all know that having justice and truth on our side is 

391
00:26:25.612 --> 00:26:28.301
what makes us truly strong.

392
00:26:28.301 --> 00:26:32.420
If this is the case, it would be hard to disagree with the fact that it 

393
00:26:32.420 --> 00:26:36.171
is our strength and our readiness to fight that are the bedrock 

394
00:26:36.171 --> 00:26:41.600
of independence and sovereignty and provide the necessary foundation 

395
00:26:41.600 --> 00:26:48.085
for building a reliable future for your home, your family,

396
00:26:48.085 --> 00:26:49.609
and your Motherland.

397
00:26:52.109 --> 00:26:54.586
Dear compatriots,

398
00:26:54.586 --> 00:27:00.694
I am certain that devoted soldiers and officers of Russia’s Armed 

399
00:27:00.694 --> 00:27:05.693
Forces will perform their duty with professionalism and courage.

400
00:27:05.693 --> 00:27:09.934
I have no doubt that the government institutions at all levels 

401
00:27:09.934 --> 00:27:13.543
and specialists will work effectively to guarantee the stability of our 

402
00:27:13.543 --> 00:27:17.686
economy, financial system and social wellbeing,

403
00:27:17.686 --> 00:27:20.734
and the same applies to corporate executives and the entire 

404
00:27:20.734 --> 00:27:25.140
business community. I hope that all parliamentary parties and civil 

405
00:27:25.140 --> 00:27:28.649
society take a consolidated, patriotic position.

406
00:27:28.649 --> 00:27:34.795
At the end of the day, the future of Russia is in the hands of its 

407
00:27:34.795 --> 00:27:39.363
multi-ethnic people, as has always been the case in our history.

408
00:27:39.363 --> 00:27:44.082
This means that the decisions that I made will be executed,

409
00:27:44.082 --> 00:27:47.082
that we will achieve the goals we have set,

410
00:27:47.082 --> 00:27:50.924
and reliably guarantee the security of our Motherland.

411
00:27:51.944 --> 00:27:57.468
I believe in your support and the invincible force rooted 

412
00:27:57.468 --> 00:28:00.209
in the love for our Fatherland.