Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for unity and perseverance among Russians heading into 2024.
“We have shown more than once that we can solve the most difficult tasks and never back down, because there is no force that could divide us,” the Kremlin leader said in his televised address, without explicitly mentioning the war in Ukraine in that context.
The address was first broadcast in Russia’s Far East on Sunday, when the Chukotka and Kamchatka peninsulas welcomed the New Year. The speech will then be shown shortly before midnight in every other time zone of the giant country until it is the capital Moscow’s turn.
For the Russians, it is the second New Year’s Eve of the war against neighbouring Ukraine ordered by Putin. The day before, Russian civilians suffered their first major casualties, with more than 20 people killed in Belgorod on the border with Ukraine.
The president did not address this during his appearance against the backdrop of a wintry Kremlin. According to the Ria Novosti agency, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied that any changes had been made to the pre-recorded speech.
Putin, 71, thanked soldiers in action and said they were on the front line in the fight “for truth and justice.”