Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia is now fighting for its existence. “For Russia, it is a struggle for our people who live in these regions (eastern Ukraine, an English journalist).”
He said this when he visited an aircraft factory in the eastern Russian city of Ulan-Ude earlier this week.
He also said the West was wrong about the impact of its sanctions on Russia. The Russian economy did not collapse, on the contrary.
“Western companies that left Russia said everything would fall apart, but it didn’t.” Russia has taken the most important step in its development, this is perhaps the most important achievement of 2022. We have multiplied our economic independence. After all, what were our enemies counting on? That we would collapse in two or three weeks or months? That’s what they were counting on,” he said.
