President Vladimir Putin has cast the confrontation with the West over the Ukraine war as an existential battle for the survival of Russia and the Russian people — and said he is forced to take into account Nato’s nuclear capabilities.
A year since ordering the invasion of Ukraine, Putin is increasingly presenting the war as a make-or-break moment in Russian history — and saying that he believes the very future of Russia and its people is in peril.
“They have one goal: to disband the former Soviet Union and its fundamental part — the Russian Federation,” Putin told Rossiya 1 state television in an interview recorded on Wednesday but released on Sunday.
Nato and the West dismiss such a narrative, saying their objective is to help Ukraine defend itself against an unprovoked attack. REUTERS
