‘They started the war’: Russia’s Putin blames West and Ukraine for provoking conflict
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his annual state of the nation address at the Gostiny Dvor conference centre in central Moscow on February 21, 2023.
Mikhail Metzel | Afp | Getty Images
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday used a highly anticipated speech to deny responsibility for the war in Ukraine and lash out at his adversaries.
His comments come despite repeated rejections of Putin’s narrative surrounding the war by Western nations and Ukraine.
Feb. 24 will mark one year since Russia mounted a large-scale invasion of Ukraine, beginning a ground war in Europe that Putin still refers to as a “special military operation.” Intense fighting continues across the war-torn nation with the death toll reportedly in the tens of thousands.
In a more-than-hour-long speech, Putin tried to justify Russia’s invasion by claiming it had been attempting to allow citizens in the contested Donbas region to speak their “own language” and had been seeking a peaceful solution.
He cited the expansion of NATO and new European anti-rocket defense systems as provoking Russia, and said the objective of the West was “infinite power.”
Putin also used the speech to announce Russia was suspending its participation in a treaty with the U.S., New START, that limits the two sides’ strategic nuclear arsenals.
The U.S. administration on Saturday formally concluded that Moscow had committed “crimes against humanity” during its year-long invasion of its neighbor. Political analysts say Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine was the biggest mistake of his political career and has weakened Russia for years to come.
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 after a falsified referendum. The invasion was widely condemned by the international community and resulted in rounds of Western sanctions against Russian officials. Last year it also annexed four Ukrainian regions (Donetsk and Luhansk which cover the Donbas region, and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia) which Ukraine and its allies also condemned as illegal and illegitimate.
Putin on Tuesday discussed the Donbas, claiming the Kremlin saw threats increasing in the contested region ahead of the Feb. 24 invasion.
“We had no doubt that by February 2022, everything was prepared for a punitive action in Donbas, where [the] Kyiv regime provided artillery and aviation and other weapons to attack Donbas in 2014. In 2015, they attempted again to directly attack Donbas, they continued shelling, terror,” he said, according to a Sky News translation.
“All of this was completely against the documents that were accepted by the United Nations Security Council. I would like to repeat: they started the war. And we used the force in order to stop it.”
Putin’s “state of the nation” address Tuesday was delivered in Moscow to lawmakers and military officials, and was also broadcast on state TV.
Russia was looking to create a highway to Crimea, Putin said, and enact a program of “social restoration” to territories it claims control over.
Ukrainian officials are defiant, however, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy repeatedly insisting the country will not surrender to anything but a restoration of the country’s pre-invasion borders.
“Putin at it again, with his usual set of grievances,” Ukraine’s former ambassador to Austria, Olexander Scherba, said on Twitter. “The biggest one: West & Ukraine were ready for a war with [Russia]. As if there was no [Russia] ultimatum. As if [French President Emmanuel] Macron, [German Chancellor Olaf] Scholz & Co didn’t spend 2021 traveling to Moscow, begging [Russia] not to do it.”
Putin further announced Tuesday the country was launching a state fund to support veterans and the families of fallen soldiers; and launching measures to boost its economy including tax cuts for businesses that buy domestic products and a program to encourage citizens to save and invest within the country.
U.S. President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Monday, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Biden said the trip was to “reaffirm our unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.” He also promised to deliver more artillery ammunition and anti-armor systems, and to announce new sanctions on Russian companies and its elites.
Biden is also due to deliver a speech Tuesday, in Poland, where he is meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda.
For the second time, a judge strikes down Elon Musk’s $55 billion Tesla CEO pay package as the company struggles to avoid seeing its sales slip year over year for the first time. Plus: an all-new look for Jaguar this Giving Tuesday on Quick Charge!
We’ve also got record EV sales from both Kia and Hyundai, with the latter seeing IONIQ 5 sales double over last year, more Tesla discounts in China AND North America, and more.
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“Tesla could not meet program standards” on Oklahoma’s NEVI EV charger installation program, so EVgo took over.
As Electrek originally reported in April, Oklahoma approved more than $8 million in federal funds for Tesla, Love’s Travel Stops, and Francis Energy to build DC fast chargers along its interstates.
The three companies were to provide a combined $7 million in private funding match to build 13 DC fast charging stations. The first round of awards would complete the buildout of I-35, I-40, and I-44 as Alternative Fuel Corridors.
Tesla was supposed to install three Superchargers at the I-44 exit 240 in Catoosa, the I-40 exit 240B in Henryetta, and the I-44 exit 125B in Oklahoma City. In order to qualify for National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program funding, they had to be equipped with Magic Docks – that is, CCS compatibility.
However, OK Energy Today reports that Oklahoma Transportation Commissioners unanimously approved replacing Tesla with second-place EVgo yesterday.
Jared Schennesen, multi-modal division manager to the nine commissioners, said:
Tesla could not meet program standards for the gap awarded along I-44 in Oklahoma City.
Due to not meeting the program requirements, ODOT required that the award be revoked from Tesla as direct[ed] by state procurement rules and awarded to second-place finisher EVgo for this gap.
Schennesen didn’t specify exactly how Tesla couldn’t meet the program standards, but the article goes on to note that EVgo reduced its costs considerably compared to what Tesla’s project costs were:
EVgo won the award for a total of $519,740, and Schennesen said it reduced the total project cost by $317,932. The federal share of the project will increase by $201,781 bringing the final total to $801,780.
EVgo has more than 1,000 DC fast charging locations in 40 states and serves over 65 metropolitan areas.
Oklahoma’s NEVI EV charger installation program, EVOK, is responsible for spending $66 million from 2022-27 in NEVI Formula Program funds to create a state EV charging network. The federal NEVI program allocates $5 billion over five years to help US states create a network of EV charging stations. The funding comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The NEVI program requires EV charging stations to be available every 50 miles and within one travel mile of the Alternative Fuel Corridor. EV charging stations must include at least four ports with connectors capable of simultaneously charging four EVs at 150 kilowatts (kW) each, with a total station power capacity of 600 kW or more.
The charging stations must have 24-hour public accessibility and provide amenities like restrooms, food and beverage, and shelter.
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The US Department of Energy (DOE) says it will loan up to $7.54 billion to a Stellantis and Samsung SDI joint venture to help build two EV lithium-ion battery plants in Indiana.
Stellantis + Samsung EV battery plants loan
The joint venture is called StarPlus Energy LLC, and its huge project will create huge job growth: at least 2,800 jobs at the plants, plus hundreds more for parts suppliers at a nearby park.
At full capacity, the plants will produce about 67 GWh of batteries for Stellantis EVs in Kokomo, enough to supply about 670,000 vehicles annually, the DOE’s Loan Programs Office said. Stellantis said yesterday that the first plant will open in early 2025 and the second in 2027.
To secure the loan, StarPlus needs to implement its Community Benefits Plan, which includes working with community and labor leaders to create well-paying jobs. It’s unclear whether the loan will be able to be finalized before Donald Trump takes office on January 20, but according to the Associated Press, the DOE said “it would be irresponsible for ‘any government to turn its back on private sector partners, states, and communities that are benefiting from lower energy costs and new economic opportunities’ from the loans.”
Electrek’s Take
Since Trump is threatening tariffs all over the place to stimulate domestic manufacturing, it would be pretty dumb if he attempted to kill this loan. The DOE anticipates this and makes a point of saying in its announcement that “the project will greatly expand EV battery manufacturing capacity in North America and reduce America’s reliance on adversarial foreign nations like China, as well as other foreign sourcing of EV batteries.”
If you live in an area that has frequent natural disaster events, and are interested in making your home more resilient to power outages, consider going solar and adding a battery storage system. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*
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