Putin says West aiming to ‘tear apart’ historical Russia

President asserts his goal is to ‘unite the Russian people,’ declares that all US-supplied Patriot air-defense missiles deployed in Ukraine will be destroyed

By Agencies 25 December 2022, 2:00 pm

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Russia's President Vladimir Putin (C), flanked by Tula's Region Governor Alexei Dyumin (L), listens to explanations from Shcheglovsky Val Director General Alexei Visloguzov (R) as he visits the Shcheglovsky Val machine building plant, a subsidiary of KBP Instrument Design Bureau, in Tula, Russia, on December 23, 2022.

MOSCOW, Ruusia — Russian President Vladimir Putin blasted the West for trying to “tear apart” Russia, in extracts from an interview to be aired on national television later Sunday.

“At the core of it all is the policy of our geopolitical opponents aiming to tear apart Russia, the historical Russia,” Putin said.

“They have always tried to ‘divide and conquer’… Our goal is something else — to unite the Russian people,” he said.

Putin has used the concept of “historical Russia” to argue that Ukrainians and Russians are one people — undermining Kyiv’s sovereignty and justifying his 10-month offensive in Ukraine.

“We are acting in the right direction, we are protecting our national interests, the interests of our citizens, of our people,” Putin said.

The president repeated claims that Moscow was “ready to negotiate with all participants in this process (to find) an acceptable solution” to the conflict.

US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hold a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Dec. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

In his first trip outside Ukraine since the offensive began in February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earned firm pledges of support in Washington from US President Joe Biden, including the Pentagon’s most advanced air defense system.

“Of course we will destroy it, 100 percent!” Putin said, referring to the Patriot missile battery promised to Zelensky.

The latest US military aid package will include not only a Patriot missile battery but precision-guided bombs for fighter jets, US officials said last week. It represents an expansion in the kinds of advanced weaponry intended to bolster Ukraine’s air defenses against what has been an increasing barrage of Russian missiles.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry has said the delivery of the advanced surface-to-air missile system would be considered a provocative step and that the system and any crews accompanying it would be a legitimate target for Moscow’s military.

“It’s a defensive system,” Biden said of sending the missile system. “It’s not escalatory — it’s defensive.”

It was unclear when the Patriot battery would arrive on the front lines in Ukraine, given that US troops will have to train Ukrainian forces. The training, expected to be done in Germany, could take several months, the Pentagon said Wednesday.