Russia’s president Vladimir Putin delivered a state of the nation speech in Moscow this week marking the anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine he ordered a year ago.
In the colourful two-hour speech, the Kremlin leader vowed to continue his “special military operation” in Ukraine and told listeners that it would be impossible for Russia to be defeated. Mr Putin acknowledged the difficulty of the war on Russians who had lost loved ones, but he stressed that the West and Ukrainian elites were actually behind the war and not his military orders.
Mr Putin also took an interesting detour to comment on practices in the West. Adding to his many bizarre comments about his opposers, Mr Putin said paedophilia was normal in the UK.
During the year-long war in Ukraine, tensions between Russia and the West have intensified as UK, France and the US have been integral in orchestrating military and financial support for Ukraine to defend itself in the war.
In response, Vladimir Putin has made efforts to demonise the West in Russian minds with bizarre comments during televised state addresses and public speeches.
Below are some of the Kremlin leader’s weirdest comments about the West since the war began:
Paedophilia is normalised in the West
Mr Putin has said that in the West “even paedophilia is announced as a normal thing”, in a major speech ahead of the first anniversary of the Ukraine invasion.
He said the West recognises same-sex marriage, adding: “That’s fine. They’re adults. They have the right to live their lives. We are always very tolerant about this in Russia.”
But, he said, scripture says marriage is between a man and a woman, and he also cited media reports that the Anglican church was considering gender-neutral terms for God.
The West started the war in Ukraine
Mr Putin also used his state of the nation address to blame the West for the war in Ukraine.
“The responsibility is on the West and the Ukrainian elite and government, which does not serve the national interest, but [rather serves the interest] of third countries [which] use Ukraine as a military base to fight Russia,” Mr Putin said.
“The more they send weapons to Ukraine, the more we will have the responsibility of the security situation at the Russian border. This is a natural response.”
He accused the West of using principles of “democracy and freedom” to defend “totalitarian values and distract people’s attention from “corruption scandals and economic-social problems.”
‘I’m not bluffing’
For decades, talks of nuclear warfare have always surrounded a conflict Russia is involved in.
The war in Ukraine has been no different, but in a televised address, Mr Putin made his clearest nuclear threat to the West yet.
“Now they (the West) are talking about nuclear blackmail,” said the Russian leader in September 2022.
“If there is a threat to the territorial integrity of our country, and for protecting our people, we will certainly use all the means available to us - and I'm not bluffing,” he added.
Russia’s defence committee deputy chairman, Aleksey Zhuravlyov, also threatened to strike the UK with its news RS-28 Sarmat hypersonic nuclear missile – known in the west as “Satan-2.” He said the missile could strike the UK in just “200 seconds.”
“If the United States threatens our state, it’s good: here is the Sarmat for you, and there will be nuclear ashes from you if you think that Russia should not exist. And Finland says that it is at one with the USA. Well, get in line,” he said.
“We can hit with a Sarmat from Siberia, and even reach the UK. And if we strike from Kaliningrad... the hypersonic’s reaching time is 200 seconds – so go ahead, guys.”
Liz Truss is ‘out of it’ said Putin
Dislike and tension between world leaders are not new, but public name-calling and insults certainly fall on the weirder side of international discourse.
The Russian president hit out at the former prime minister as he sought to defend his country from the criticism of Western leaders since the invasion of Ukraine.
“We’ve never said anything proactively about possible use of nuclear weapons by Russia. We have only hinted in response to those statements that the Western leaders have made,” he said.
Referring to the former prime minister, he said: “Liz Truss, the ex-prime minister of the United Kingdom, she said it directly.
“In her conversation with a representative of the media, she said that the UK is a nuclear power and the prime minister has, in their mandate, the possible use of nuclear weapons.
“I’m not quoting her and she said that she’s prepared to do that.
“And no-one responded in any way.
“Well, she just made a folly, she was a bit out of it.”
Ukrainian government are ‘drug addicts and neo-Nazis’
Vladimir Putin oddly accused the Ukrainian government of being filled with drug addicts and neo-Nazis.
In a video appeal to Ukrainian soldiers to cease fire and negotiate with the Kremlin, Mr Putin said: “Take power into your own hands.
“It seems it will be easier to agree with you than with this gang of drug addicts and neo Nazis who settled in Kyiv and took the entire people hostage.”
