March 28, 2025 (EIRNS)—During his March 27 visit with the crew and naval commanders of the Arkhangelsk nuclear submarine in the city of Murmansk President Vladimir Putin had a broad-ranging discussion on several crucial topics, including on the Navy’s impressive technological advancement, seen in the construction of its submarines, of which the nuclear-powered Arkhangelsk cruiser sub is the latest, armed with Zircon missiles. Noting the development of the Russian Navy historically, dating back to Peter the Great, he underscored that Russia is indeed a naval power, and the professionals who command and man the submarines are “one of a kind…. A cruiser of this generation is a source of pride,” he said, and has an important mission “when it comes to ensuring our national security.”
Asked to give an update on the special military operation (SMO) in Ukraine, Putin reviewed the history of the conflict, noting that Russian forces are “gradually moving towards achieving all the objectives we set for ourselves,” and are making steady progress. He referred to the events that led to the decision to move into Ukraine militarily, including the betrayal of Germany’s Angela Merkel and France’s François Hollande, who lied about the Minsk agreements and “tried to trick us,” and he referenced the eight years of “genocide” the Kiev regime committed against the people of Donbass, Lugansk and Donetsk.
The peace agreement that was concluded in Istanbul in March of 2022 settled all “outstanding issues,” including the demand for denazification, Putin said, until the “European curators” arrived, including then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, “who convinced the Ukrainian leadership to keep fighting until there are virtually no Ukrainians left, and to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. He probably forgot that we have crews like the one you are in … or maybe they ignored altogether what the Russian people represent, what they stand for and what they have in their hearts and souls when it comes to defending their fatherland.”
