Russian President Vladimir Putin decried “liberal elites” of the West in a speech Thursday that appeared aimed largely at conservatives abroad, while playing down fears that Russia would use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine.
“There are two Wests: the traditional West, with Christian values above all, with which we share common antique roots, and the cosmopolitan West, which is a tool of liberal elites,” he said in his address at the Valdai Discussion Club, a Kremlin-affiliated research institute. “No one will put up with the dictates of this West in Russia.”
Putin said “there is no point, politically or militarily” to a nuclear strike on Ukraine, but he did not back off from unsupported claims that Ukraine is preparing to use a “dirty bomb” — an explosive containing radioactive material — on its own soil. Kyiv and Western governments have dismissed the accusation and warned that Moscow could use it as a pretext for escalating the war.
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
4. From our correspondents
Most penal colonies are prison facilities where inmates are required to perform labor during their sentence, and the conditions are known to be harsh, with some similarities to Soviet-era gulags. Past prisoners of penal colonies have reported long days, with 16 to 17 hours of labor, invasive surveillance and denial of medical care, Amy Cheng, Ellen Francis, Robyn Dixon and Adam Taylor write.
Mary Ilyushina and Emily Rauhala contributed to this report.
