“As Moscow launched a fresh barrage of strikes against Ukraine on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an unusually aggressive prerecorded address, which was broadcast as Russians in the Far East began their New Year’s celebrations,” the Washington Post reports.
“This New Year’s message was notably different from previous years, a reflection of the new path the country has taken since Russia invaded Ukraine this February.”
“In the address, which was broadcast at midnight on Russian state television in line with the country’s 11 different time zones, Putin said Russia was fighting in Ukraine to protect its ‘motherland’ and called 2022 ‘a year of hard, necessary decisions’ and ‘fateful events’ that had laid the foundation of Russia’s future and independence.”
Axios: “Russian missiles struck Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities Saturday, leaving a fresh wave of destruction ahead of the new year.”
