President Vladimir Putin used his New Year's address to the nation to accuse Western countries of aggression and trying to use the conflict in Ukraine to undermine Moscow.
Putin made the video address, shown on state television on Saturday in each of Russia's 11 time zones, from a military headquarters with soldiers in the background, a sharp departure from his previous practice of recording the message against the backdrop of the snowy Kremlin.
"It was a year of difficult, necessary decisions, the most important steps toward gaining full sovereignty of Russia and powerful consolidation of our society,” he said, echoing his repeated contention that Moscow had no choice but to send troops into Ukraine because it threatened Russia's security.
“The West lied about peace, but was preparing for aggression, and today it admits it openly, no longer embarrassed. And they cynically use Ukraine and its people to weaken and split Russia,” Putin said. "We have never allowed anyone and will not allow anyone to do this.”
The Kremlin has muzzled any criticism of its actions in Ukraine, shut independent media outlets and criminalised the spread of any information that differs from the official view — including diverging from calling campaign a special military operation.