MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the United States of encouraging extensive hostilities in Ukraine as part of what he described on Tuesday as Washington’s alleged efforts to maintain its global hegemony.
At a security conference attended by military officials from Africa, Asia and Latin America, Putin confirmed his long-held claim that he had sent troops to Ukraine in response to Washington turning the country into an “anti-Russia” stronghold. .
“They need conflict to maintain their hegemony,” Putin said. “That’s why they turned the Ukrainian people into cannon fodder. The situation in Ukraine shows that the United States is trying to resolve the conflict, and it is acting in exactly the same way to fuel conflict in Asia, Africa and Latin America.”
The speech represented the latest effort by the Russian leader to rally support amid scathing Western sanctions targeting Russia’s economy and finances along with his government structures, top officials and companies for Moscow’s action in Ukraine.
Putin also drew parallels between US support for Ukraine and a recent visit to Taiwan by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, claiming that both were part of an alleged US effort to fuel global instability.
“The American adventure in Taiwan was not just another trip by an irresponsible politician. It was part of a deliberate and conscious US strategy designed to destabilize the situation and create chaos in the region and around the world, a blatant demonstration of disrespect for another country’s sovereignty and its own international obligations. ‘ said Putin.
The Russian leader claimed that “Western globalist elites” were trying to “shift the blame for their own failures to Russia and China,” adding that “no matter how hard the beneficiaries of the current globalist model try to cling to it, it is doomed.” to fail. ”
“The era of the unipolar world order is nearing its end,” he added.
At the same conference, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that in addition to arms deliveries to Ukraine, Western allies have also provided detailed intelligence and deployed instructors to assist the Ukrainian military in operating the weapon systems.
“Western intelligence agencies have not only provided target coordinates for launching attacks, but Western specialists have also overseen the input of that data into weapon systems,” Shoigu said.
He dismissed allegations that Russia could potentially use nuclear or chemical weapons in the conflict as an “absolute lie”.
“From a military point of view, it is not necessary to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine to achieve the stated goals,” Shoigu said. “The main mission of the Russian nuclear forces is to deter a nuclear attack.”
Shoigu added that the claims of a possible chemical attack by Russia were equally “absurd”, saying Moscow has completely liquidated its stockpiles of chemical weapons in accordance with an international treaty banning chemical weapons.
