Tokyo live blog about Moscow to Brussels
In a New Year’s speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin has thought about the many thousands of corona deaths in his country. He also paid tribute to the Russians in health care, who “rescue and care for the sick”.
In total, the corona virus has already killed at least 300,000 people in Russia. The numbers are back at record highs in recent days, with about 1,000 deaths a day. In addition, only 61.8 percent of Russians are fully vaccinated.
More generally, Russia has also been victorious over the past year, Putin said. “We have fought hard and consistently for our national interests, the security of the country and the citizens,” it said. “Of course there are still a lot of unresolved issues, but we got through this year well.”
Putin called on his compatriots, whom he addressed as “dear friends”, to “step together the positive changes that lie ahead”. The announcement was broadcast in eastern Russia, where the new year started in the capital Moscow. Putin won’t be on television for a few hours there.
The past year was dominated by tensions between Moscow and the west. Putin had a telephone conversation with US President Joe Biden yesterday about the continued Russian military threat in eastern neighboring Ukraine.