Vladimir Putin delivers his traditional New Year's address: "We will never back down ».
Eva Deschamps / December 31, 2023
In his New Year's address on Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged that his country would "never back down" after "firmly defending" its interests in 2023, without explicitly mentioning Ukraine.
"We have proven time and again that we can solve the most difficult tasks and that we will never back down because no force can divide us," he said on television.
Although Vladimir Putin did not directly refer to the conflict in Ukraine, which began almost two years ago, he did make several allusions to it, for example paying a heartfelt tribute to the soldiers, "our heroes ».
But unlike last year, when the president appeared flanked by uniformed servicemen, this time he proclaimed that 2024 would be the year of the "family", in front of the traditional Kremlin backdrop.
In 2023, "we have firmly defended our national interests, our freedom and security, our values", he said in an address first broadcast in the Russian Far East, given the time zone difference with Moscow.
The President pledged that Russia, which is going through "a historic phase", would be "even stronger" next year.
In his New Year's greetings last year, Vladimir Putin assured us that "moral and historical correctness" was "on Russia's side ».