From Putin's statement
In March 2021, Ukraine adopted a new Military Strategy. This document is almost entirely devoted to the confrontation with Russia, aims to draw foreign states into a conflict with our country. The strategy suggests the organization in the Russian Crimea and on the territory of Donbass, in fact, a terrorist underground. The outlines of the alleged war are also spelled out in it, and it should end, as it seems to today's Kiev strategists, I will quote further – "with the assistance of the international community on favorable terms for Ukraine." And also, as they say today in Kiev, I am also quoting here, listen more carefully, please – "with the military support of the world community in the geopolitical confrontation with the Russian Federation." In fact, this is nothing more than preparation for military operations against our country – against Russia.
We also know that statements have already been made that Ukraine is going to create its own nuclear weapons, and this is not empty bravado. Ukraine does indeed have Soviet nuclear technologies and means of delivering such weapons, including aviation, as well as operational-tactical missiles "Tochka-U", also of Soviet design, whose range exceeds 100 kilometers. But they will do more, it's only a matter of time. There are groundwork from the Soviet era.
Thus, it will be much easier for Ukraine to acquire tactical nuclear weapons than for some other states, I will not name them now, actually leading such developments, especially in the case of technological support from abroad. And we shouldn't rule that out either.
With the appearance of weapons of mass destruction in Ukraine, the situation in the world, in Europe, especially for us, for Russia, will change dramatically. We cannot but react to this real danger, especially, I repeat, that Western patrons can facilitate the appearance of such weapons in Ukraine in order to create another threat to our country. We see how persistently the military pumping of the Kiev regime is being carried out. The United States alone, since 2014, has allocated billions of dollars for these purposes, including the supply of weapons, equipment, and training of specialists. In recent months, Western weapons have been coming to Ukraine in a continuous stream, demonstratively, in front of the whole world. The activities of the armed forces and special services of Ukraine are led by foreign advisers, we know this well.
In recent years, under the pretext of exercises, military contingents of NATO countries have been almost constantly present on the territory of Ukraine. The control system of the Ukrainian troops has already been integrated with the NATO ones. This means that the command of the Ukrainian armed forces, even individual units and subunits, can be directly carried out from the NATO headquarters.
The United States and NATO have begun the shameless development of the territory of Ukraine as a theater of potential military operations. Regular joint exercises have a clear anti-Russian orientation. Last year alone, more than 23 thousand servicemen and over a thousand pieces of equipment participated in them.
A law has already been adopted on the admission of the armed forces of other states to the territory of Ukraine in 2022 to participate in multinational exercises. It is clear that we are talking primarily about NATO troops. And in the coming year, at least ten such joint maneuvers are planned.
It is obvious that such events serve as a cover for the rapid buildup of the NATO military group on the territory of Ukraine. Moreover, the network of airfields modernized with the help of the Americans - Boryspil, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chuguev, Odessa, and so on - is able to ensure the transfer of military units in the shortest possible time. The airspace of Ukraine is open for flights of strategic and reconnaissance aircraft of the United States, unmanned aerial vehicles that are used to monitor the territory of Russia.
I will add that the Center of Naval Operations built by the Americans in Ochakov allows for the actions of NATO ships, including their use of precision weapons against the Russian Black Sea Fleet and our infrastructure on the entire Black Sea coast. At one time, the United States intended to create similar facilities in the Crimea, but the Crimeans and Sevastopol residents thwarted these plans. We will always remember this.
I repeat, today such a center has been deployed, already deployed in Ochakov. Let me remind you that in the XVIII century, Alexander Suvorov's soldiers fought for this city. Thanks to their courage, it became part of Russia. At the same time, in the XVIII century, the lands of the Black Sea region, annexed to Russia as a result of the wars with the Ottoman Empire, were called Novorossiya. Now these milestones of history are being tried to be forgotten, as are the names of state military figures of the Russian Empire, without whose labors modern Ukraine would not have many large cities and even the very exit to the Black Sea.
Recently, a monument to Alexander Suvorov was demolished in Poltava. What can I say? Are you abandoning your own past? From the so-called colonial legacy of the Russian Empire? Well, then be consistent here.
Further. I would like to note that article 17 of the Constitution of Ukraine does not allow the deployment of foreign military bases on its territory. But it turned out that this is just a convention that can be easily circumvented.
NATO training missions have been deployed in Ukraine. These, in fact, are already foreign military bases. They just called the base a "mission" and that's it.
Kiev has long proclaimed a strategic course for joining NATO. Yes, of course, every country has the right to choose its own security system and conclude military alliances. And everything seems to be like this, if not for one "but". International documents explicitly state the principle of equal and indivisible security, which, as is known, includes obligations not to strengthen one's security at the expense of the security of other States. I can refer here to the 1999 OSCE Charter for European Security, adopted in Istanbul, and the 2010 OSCE Astana Declaration.
In other words, the choice of ways to ensure security should not pose a threat to other states, and Ukraine's accession to NATO is a direct threat to Russia's security.
Let me remind you that back in April 2008, at the Bucharest summit of the North Atlantic Alliance, the United States pushed through the decision that Ukraine and, by the way, Georgia would become NATO members. Many European allies of the United States were already well aware of all the risks of such a prospect, but were forced to accept the will of a senior partner. The Americans simply used them to carry out a pronounced anti-Russian policy.
A number of member states of the Alliance are still very skeptical about the appearance of Ukraine in NATO. At the same time, we receive a signal from some European capitals, saying: "What are you going through? It's not going to happen literally tomorrow." Actually, our American partners are also talking about this. "Well," we reply– "if not tomorrow, then the day after tomorrow. What does this change in historical perspective? In fact, nothing."
Moreover, we know the position and words of the leadership of the United States that active hostilities in the east of Ukraine do not exclude the possibility of this country joining NATO if it can meet the criteria of the North Atlantic Alliance and defeat corruption.
At the same time, they try to convince us over and over again that NATO is a peaceful and purely defensive alliance. They say there are no threats to Russia. Again, they offer to take my word for it. But we know the real price of such words well. In 1990, when the issue of the unification of Germany was discussed, the Soviet leadership was promised by the United States that there would be no extension of jurisdiction