Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday delivered a fiery speech at a ceremony where he signed treaties to annex more occupied Ukrainian territories, in a move to accelerate the war against Ukraine. At his speech, Putin attacked the West, and mentioned the 'plunder of India' when speaking of their "colonial policy back in the Middle Ages".
The Russian President's land-grabbing Friday prompted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accelerate his application to join NATO. The US hit Russia with more sanctions.
Putin's Kremlin ceremony came three days after the completion in occupied regions of Moscow-orchestrated “referendums” on joining Russia that were dismissed by Kyiv and the West as a bare-faced land grab held at gunpoint and based on lies.
In his speech, the Russian leader said, "The West...began its colonial policy back in the Middle Ages, and then followed the slave trade, the genocide of Indian tribes in America, the plunder of India, of Africa, the wars of England and France against China."
"What they did was, hooking entire nations on drugs, deliberately exterminating entire ethnic groups. For the sake of land and resources, they hunted people like animals. This is contrary to the very nature of man, truth, freedom and justice."
Putin's fiery speech
In his fiery speech at the ceremony, he insisted that Ukraine must treat the Kremlin-managed votes “with respect.”
After the signing ceremony of treaties to join Russia, Moscow-installed leaders of the occupied regions gathered around Putin and they all linked hands, joining chants of “Russia! Russia!” with the audience.
Putin, however, cut an angry figure as he accused the United States and its allies of seeking to destroy Russia. He said the West acted “as a parasite” and used its financial and technological strength “to rob the entire world.”
He portrayed Russia as being on a historical mission to reclaim its post-Soviet great power status and counter Western domination that he said is collapsing.
“History has called us to a battlefield to fight for our people, for grand historic Russia, for future generations,” he said.
Also Read | Repercussions of Putin annexing Ukrainian regions: Harder sanctions on Russia from US
(with inputs from AP)
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