President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday accused the West of using the Ukraine conflict to “be done” with Russia, saying traitors must be punished and proclaimed that Moscow had successfully withstood Western sanctions.
He noted that the responsibility for fuelling the Ukrainian conflict lies completely with Western elites, repeating his claim that the West was supporting neo-Nazi forces in Ukraine.
The Russian army has faced a long series of humiliating defeats over the past year, even after the mobilisation of hundreds of thousands of reservists last September