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Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed the US in a speech in St. Petersburg on Friday, accused Washington of being “God’s messenger” and warned that the world order was changing.
“After the United States declared victory in the Cold War, it declared itself God’s ambassador on earth,” Putin claimed. “They seem to ignore the fact that new powerful and increasingly assertive centers have emerged over the past few decades.”
Putin’s speech, delayed by over an hour because of an alleged cyber attack, focused almost entirely on attacks on the US and its Western allies.
Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Alexander Demyanchuk, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
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Russia has drawn strong international condemnation after four months ago the illegal and deadly invasion of Ukraine – an invasion that has resulted in the greatest threat to European security since World War II.
But Putin, who has long relied on propaganda to raise the political temperature in Russia, hinted that heavy sanctions have been imposed on Moscow due to Western fears that the global order is changing.
“Our colleagues are not just denying reality. What is more, they are trying to reverse the course of history,” Putin claimed. “You think you’re extraordinary. If they are exceptional, that means everyone else is second rate.”
The Kremlin chief accused the US of “abolishing” states that do not accept Western values.
Putin claimed Moscow was just the latest victim to be hit by “crazy” and “insane” sanctions and said Western efforts were not stopping the world order from changing.
Russian military and pro-Russian separatists watch as civilians are evacuated along humanitarian corridors from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, March 24, 2022. (Photo by Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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“Nothing lasts forever,” he said. “When planning their economic blitzkrieg, they didn’t realize how much our country had changed in recent years, just ignored the true facts.”
The US, Europe and other Western allies have not only hit Russia with tough sanctions to halt its war effort, but have also taken steps to block the sale of Russia’s biggest sources of income — oil and natural gas.
The European Union, which imported a whopping 40 percent of its energy needs from Moscow before invading Ukraine, has announced it will cut 90 percent of its Russian oil imports by the end of the year.
Moreover, earlier this month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged to reach out to the other 10 percent as well.
But despite high inflation, his declining ability to resupply his forces in Ukraine, and growing internal frustration over domestic economic woes, Putin claimed on Friday the West’s efforts had not worked.
The body of 43-year-old civilian Yaroslava is covered with a blanket near a grave. According to local residents, Yaraslova was killed on 4 (REUTERS/Gleb Garanich)
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The Russian president said efforts to halt his “military special operation” in Ukraine were not working.
He again claimed his invasion was in response to alleged human rights abuses in Kyiv – an accusation the UN has repeatedly denied – and said it was “forced” to invade Ukraine.