Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country has gained, not lost, from the conflict in Ukraine because it was embarking on a new sovereign path that would restore its global status.
Vladimir Putin said this while delivering a speech at the plenary session of the 2022 Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok, Russia on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022.
The conflict in Ukraine, which Putin calls a “special military operation”, is a turning point in history when Russia finally threw off the humiliations which accompanied the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, according to Putin
In an attempt to underscore Russia’s tilt towards Asia, Putin, speaking to the Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian Pacific city of Vladivostok, said that the West was failing while Asia was the future.
Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what it called a special operation to degrade its southern neighbour’s military capabilities and root out people it called dangerous nationalists.
Ukrainian forces have mounted stiff resistance and in recent days have taken back some villages in Kherson occupied by Russia.
When asked by a moderator if anything had been lost from the conflict, Putin said Russia had gained and would emerge stronger and better..
“We have not lost anything and will not lose anything,” said Putin, Russia’s paramount leader since 1999.
“Everything that is unnecessary, harmful and everything that prevents us from moving forward will be rejected.”
“In terms of what we have gained, I can say that the main gain has been the strengthening of our sovereignty, and this is the inevitable result of what is happening now,” Putin said.
He added: “This will ultimately strengthen our country from within.”
He however, acknowledged that the conflict had unleashed “a certain polarization” in both the world and in Russia.