Russian President Vladimir Putin assured this Sunday in his New Year's Eve speech that his country "will never back down" after having "firmly defended" its interests in 2023, without explicitly mentioning Ukraine. "We have proven again and again that we can solve the most difficult tasks and that we will never go back because no force can divide us, forget the memory and faith of our fathers, stop our development," said the head of the Kremlin on television .
Although Putin did not directly mention the conflict in Ukraine, which began almost two years ago, he did make several allusions, for example paying tribute to the soldiers, "our heroes."
But unlike last year, when the president appeared flanked by uniformed soldiers, this time he proclaimed that the year 2024 would be the year of the "family," against the traditional backdrop of the Kremlin.
In 2023, "we firmly defended our national interests, our freedom and our security, our values," he stated in this speech broadcast for the first time in the Russian Far East, where due to the time difference it is already January 1. Traditionally, the head of state's message is broadcast a few minutes before the Kremlin carillon announces the beginning of the new year.
The president assured that Russia, which is experiencing "a historic phase," will be "even stronger" next year.
