Putin calls Liz Truss 'CRAZY' and says she engaged in 'nuclear blackmail' with Russia 

Vladimir Putin today referred to former British Prime Minister Liz Truss as ‘crazy’ amid sweeping accusations that Western powers are engaged in ‘nuclear blackmail of Russia’.

In a ranting speech in Moscow, the Russian president said Truss must have been ‘a bit out of it’ and he claimed to have ‘never said anything proactively about possible use of nuclear weapons by Russia’.

‘We have only hinted in response to statements made by western leaders,’ he insisted, pointing out that Russian military doctrine dictates nuclear weapons should only be deployed in ‘self-defence’.

Truss previously labelled Putin’s threats to use nuclear weapons against the West as ‘sabre-rattling’ when she spoke at the UN General Assembly in September.

Alongside his criticism of Truss, Putin asserted Kyiv has the technology to create and potentially detonate a ‘dirty bomb’ in Ukraine.

He also refuted claims that Russian forces were attacking the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant – located in territory controlled by Russia in southern Ukraine.

The Russian leader, laying out his warped view of global politics, went on to accused westerners of ‘fanning the flames’ of war in Ukraine and Taiwan, of sparking a global energy crisis and of causing a food crisis – in effect regurgitating the same allegations levelled at him by much of the international community.

Putin warned the world has entered its most dangerous period since the Second World War and a ‘new world order’ must emerge in which Russia gets a bigger say, declaring that the ‘age of western domination is over’.

‘Dominion of the world is what West has decided to stake in this game. It is a dangerous, deadly and dirty game,’ he added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the 19th Annual Meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in Moscow, Russia October 27, 2022, where he delivered a rambling speech decrying the West's world dominance

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the 19th Annual Meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in Moscow, Russia October 27, 2022, where he delivered a rambling speech decrying the West’s world dominance

In a ranting speech today in Moscow, the Russian president said former British PM Liz Truss (pictured) must have been 'a bit out of it' and he claimed to have 'never said anything proactively about possible use of nuclear weapons by Russia'

In a ranting speech today in Moscow, the Russian president said former British PM Liz Truss (pictured) must have been ‘a bit out of it’ and he claimed to have ‘never said anything proactively about possible use of nuclear weapons by Russia’

While at points Putin sounded as if he was offering an olive branch – saying Russia ‘is not an enemy of the West’ and ‘only wants the right to develop’ – he made it clear that any talks on his ‘new order’ would have to be on Moscow’s terms.

The West, he added, had repeatedly rejected Moscow’s plans for peace laid out before the war in Ukraine – such as the withdrawal of all NATO troops from ex-Soviet states, against the wishes of their governments – and accused it of war-mongering.

He claimed that he had told the West: ‘Let’s be friends, have dialogue and strengthen trust and peace.’

‘We were completely sincere,’ he added. ‘What did we get in response? A ‘no’ on every possible area of cooperation.’

In fact, the US and NATO had both sent letters to Russia laying out possible grounds for cooperation before Putin invaded Ukraine, which Moscow rejected. 

‘Russia is not an enemy of the West,’ he insisted, but will continue to oppose neo-liberal elites and their world-view.  

Russia will never accept Western countries telling it what to do, and the longer the West take to realise this the higher the price will be, he added. 

Putin laid out his warped version of global events at the Valdai International Discussion Club, saying it is time for a 'new world order'

Putin laid out his warped version of global events at the Valdai International Discussion Club, saying it is time for a ‘new world order’

A Russian righter jet swoops low over the wreck of a burning fuel train in occupied Ukraine, after it was destroyed in shelling overnight

A Russian righter jet swoops low over the wreck of a burning fuel train in occupied Ukraine, after it was destroyed in shelling overnight

Firefighters work to extinguish burning fuel tanks of a Russian train sat near the occupied city of Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine

Firefighters work to extinguish burning fuel tanks of a Russian train sat near the occupied city of Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine

The speech is just the latest in a string of ranting addresses that Putin has given since launching his war, laying out his historical grievances, distorted view of current events, and his vision for the future.

He has repeatedly talked of creating a ‘multipolar world order’ in which Western capitals, including Washington, would have to kowtow to Moscow and Beijing.

Accusing the West of trying to ‘cancel’ Russia and its history, he has presented the conflict in Ukraine as an existential struggle for what he presents as ‘Russian values’.

Kyiv argues the Russian invasion is a genocidal mission to both rewrite history – including the fall of the Soviet Union, which Putin called a ‘catastrophe’ – and to ensure Ukraine cannot draw closer to the West.

In his speech, Putin accused NATO of ‘starting to seize the territories of Ukraine long ago’ and insisted he was forced to invade to protect people.

Russia is now into it ninth month of the Ukraine war and has so-far failed to achieve any of Putin’s war aims, which included the overthrow of the government and the ‘liberation’ of the Donbas region.

Ukrainian soldiers fire a mortar in the front line near Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region, Ukraine

Ukrainian soldiers fire a mortar in the front line near Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region, Ukraine

Vladimir Putin has given another ranting anti-Western speech in Moscow, accusing westerners of fanning the flames of war in Ukraine and of causing an energy crisis

Vladimir Putin has given another ranting anti-Western speech in Moscow, accusing westerners of fanning the flames of war in Ukraine and of causing an energy crisis

Having fought Russia to a standstill across almost the entire country, Ukraine is now recapturing territory from Putin’s troops.

Thousands of square miles of land in the north and south have been returned to Ukrainian control in recent weeks, with the city of Kherson now within reach.

Kyiv has vowed that it will not stop fighting until all of its land – including areas annexed by Putin in 2014 – has been liberated.

In order to stop the rot, Putin has been forced to mobilise 300,000 reservists into the army and call on allies such as Iran to supply additional weapons.

He has also annexed the Ukrainian territory Russia currently occupies to the mainland, and threatened to use nukes to protect it.

However, that has failed to stop the Ukrainian advanced and has done nothing to weaken Western resolve to supply arms and money to Kyiv. 

source: dailymail.co.uk