NEW DELHI: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday said events on the battlefield in Ukraine are a matter of “life and death” for Moscow as the war could potentially determine its fate.
The Kremlin has consistently portrayed the nearly two-year conflict as a fight for Russia‘s survival to sustain patriotic sentiment among its mostly “indifferent” population.
“I think it is still important for us ourselves, and even more so for our listeners and viewers abroad, to understand our way of thinking,” Putin said in an interview with state TV.
“Everything that is happening on the Ukraine front: For them it is an improvement of their tactical position, but for us it is our fate, it is a matter of life and death,” the Russian President added.
Putin was responding to a question on his two-hour-long interview with US talk show host Tucker Carlson.
In the interview with Carlson, Putin talked at length about Russian history and also questioned Ukraine’s statehood, drawing flak in both Kyiv and the West.
“For the Western listener, the viewer, it was not easy. Even more so for Americans,” Putin said when asked about his long, historical musings in the Carlson interview.
“The history of the United States is 300-odd years, and I started in 862. So I think it was not easy for American audiences to understand,” he said.
(With AFP inputs)
The Kremlin has consistently portrayed the nearly two-year conflict as a fight for Russia‘s survival to sustain patriotic sentiment among its mostly “indifferent” population.
“I think it is still important for us ourselves, and even more so for our listeners and viewers abroad, to understand our way of thinking,” Putin said in an interview with state TV.
“Everything that is happening on the Ukraine front: For them it is an improvement of their tactical position, but for us it is our fate, it is a matter of life and death,” the Russian President added.
Putin was responding to a question on his two-hour-long interview with US talk show host Tucker Carlson.
In the interview with Carlson, Putin talked at length about Russian history and also questioned Ukraine’s statehood, drawing flak in both Kyiv and the West.
“For the Western listener, the viewer, it was not easy. Even more so for Americans,” Putin said when asked about his long, historical musings in the Carlson interview.
“The history of the United States is 300-odd years, and I started in 862. So I think it was not easy for American audiences to understand,” he said.
(With AFP inputs)
