Putin’s veiled threat to neighbouring nations in reclaiming Russian land speech

Vladimir Putin has compared himself to Russian tyrant Peter the Great, drawing parallels between what he portrayed as their twin historic quests to reconquer Russian lands.

After months of denials that the Kremlin has been driven by imperial ambitions with the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian president appeared to offer the clearest glimpse yet of his true goals.

Speaking on the 350th anniversary of the tsar’s birth, he said: ‘Peter the Great waged the Great Northern War for 21 years. It would seem that he was at war with Sweden, he took something from them. He did not take anything from them, he returned (what was Russia’s).

‘Apparently, it also fell to us to return (what is Russia’s) and strengthen (the country). And if we proceed from the fact that these basic values form the basis of our existence, we will certainly succeed in solving the tasks that we face.’

Putin’s words will also be seen as a thinly-veiled threat to the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which fear being occupied once the war in Ukraine is over.

Sweden and Finland have also been moved to apply for NATO membership in response to the invasion.