Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a challenge to the western nations yesterday saying, “If West wants to beat us on battlefield, let them try.” Speaking to Russian lawmakers, Putin delivered one of his strongest speeches since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
“Today we hear that they want to defeat us on the battlefield. Well, what can you say here? Let them try,” Putin said as quoted by news agency AFP. He further added that Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine marked a shift to a “multi-polar world.” “This process cannot be stopped,” he added.
Putin also vented his anger against “totalitarian liberalism” that he said the West is imposing on the entire world.
Issuing a stern message to Ukraine and its NATO allies, the Russian head of state said that Russia has not even started its military campaign against its neighbouring country “in earnest.”
“Everyone should know that we have not started in earnest yet,” he insisted.
Claiming that he was open for peace talks, Putin said, “at the same time we are not refusing to hold peace negotiations but those who are refusing should know that it will be harder to come to an agreement with us” at a later stage.
He further added that most nations did not want to follow the Western model of “totalitarian liberalism” and “hypocritical double standards.” “People in most countries do not want such a life and such a future,” he said.
“They are simply tired of kneeling, humiliating themselves in front of those who consider themselves exceptional.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Russian troops are said to have destroyed ammunition depots near the city of Artemovsk in Donetsk province. The Russian Defence Ministry stated that around 350 Ukrainian soldiers and 20 armoured combat vehicles were hit in the attack.
Earlier this week Russia claimed that it had captured the vital Luhansk region, which one of the two separatist republics of Ukraine in Donbas.
