WASHINGTON – The presidents of Russia and Ukraine took markedly different approaches in their New Year’s Eve speeches Sunday night, as their nations celebrated another new year under war.
While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave a long, poetic speech elevating his country’s strength and unity in the face of terrorism, Russia’s Vladimir Putin made no mention of the brutal war he launched almost two years ago and which until now it has left around half a million dead or injured. troops.
“The year 2023 is coming to an end. Another year of our independence, another year of our struggle for independence, another year of war,” Zelensky said. “War for our land, for our freedom, for others.”
While Zelensky mentioned the words “war” or “warrior” 19 times throughout his speech, Putin refused to even mention the terms in his speech, apparently opting for warm terms.
“I would like to convey my best wishes for the new year to all Russian families. After all, the history of our huge, wonderful and beloved Homeland is made up of the history of each family,” she said, adding: “We are one country, one big family.”
“Happy New Year friends! Happy 2024!” he added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin did not mention the war in Ukraine during his New Year’s Eve speech. Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the Ukrainian people on New Year’s Eve, in kyiv, Ukraine. via REUTERS Ukrainian firefighters working to extinguish a fire in a museum hit by Russian shelling in Bilogorshche on January 1, 2024. State Emergency Service of Ukraine/AFP via Getty Images
The eerily cheerful message from a wartime president came on the same day that a new Russian law making more men eligible for conscription went into effect.
The lower house of Russia’s parliament voted last July to raise the age of recruits from 27 to 30, as Putin’s troops have suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties.
Although Putin did not mention the new change in draft requirements, he took a moment to address the Russian military, who he said were “showing the main traits of the Russian people: solidarity, mercy, fortitude.”
“All of you who are on duty, those who are on the front lines fighting for truth and justice, you are our heroes,” he said. “Our hearts are with you. “We are proud of you and admire your bravery.”
Putin meeting with Russian troops in Moscow on January 1, 2023. Photo by GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Meanwhile, Zelensky shaped his entire 20-minute speech around the conflict, noting that when Russia invaded Ukraine more than 22 months ago, “few believed we would survive until 2022, let alone [stay] will remain until 2023.”
“Ukraine is alive. Ukraine lives. Ukraine fights. Ukraine advances. Ukraine overcomes the path. Ukraine wins. Ukraine works. Ukraine exists,” he told his compatriots. “And all in all, this is not a New Year’s miracle, nor a fairy tale, nor magic, but the merit of each of you.”
Zelensky also thanked his troops and said he was “proud of every Ukrainian warrior” for “bravely and heroically defending[ing] us”, offering hope for 2024.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presents medals to soldiers in the Donetsk region on December 29, 2023. Pool /Ukrainian Presidentia/Planet Pix via ZUMA Press Wire
“From the first minutes of January 1 until now, even on New Year’s Eve, when the Ukrainian warrior fights and cannot afford to weaken, the evil that has become even greater is being stopped,” he said. “But he couldn’t do more, because you fought on every front and on every street of ours, in each of our houses. “You were strong.”
“You didn’t deliver a single blue and yellow heart. Not a single kilometer of our freedom. It’s you. All our warriors. “Each and every one who proves it: Ukrainians are stronger than evil,” he added.
Residential houses destroyed in a Russian drone strike in Odessa, Ukraine, January 1, 2024. REUTERS/Nina Liashonok
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