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Vladimir Putin presented his top propagandist with a medal of honor in the Kremlin on Tuesday.
They have the same first name and are both presidents, but the differences between the Russian and Ukrainian heads of state, among other things, became clear again on Tuesday – day 300 of the war.
Volodimir Zelensky (44) traveled to Bakhmut – the “hottest point” of the fighting. During this visit, which was not without its dangers, he honored the soldiers with awards and encouraged them to continue defending the fiercely contested city.
Vladimir Putin (70), on the other hand, welcomed the Moscow-appointed governors of the annexed Ukraine regions and TV propagandists to the Kremlin. He had awarded them medals “for their outstanding services in defending the rights and freedoms of the civilian population against the aggression of Ukrainian nationalists”.
Putin 1999: “Kill terrorists in the toilet”
Among them was Putin’s top propagandist and Russia Today boss Margarita Simonyan (42). In her acceptance speech, she chose extremely drastic words. “I have worked under your leadership for many years and I always wanted to say to you: Thank you for killing the cannibals,” she said to the Kremlin boss.
In 1999, Putin – then Prime Minister of the Russian Federation – commented on the second Chechen war at a press conference in Astana (Kazakhstan). «We will pursue terrorists everywhere. If they are at the airport, then at the airport. If we catch ’em – you’ll have to excuse me – in the toilet, we’ll kill ’em there.”
In her speech, Simonyan recalled Putin’s “promise” more than 20 years ago. “Twenty years ago you prevented our Caucasus from being torn apart. They didn’t allow the interethnic slaughter,” she said, and even praised him for political decisions in the Georgian war in 2008, when Dmitry Medvedev (57) was officially president.
“Thank you for not allowing Abkhazia and Ossetia to be devoured by insane cannibals in 2008.”
«We will help you»
She also did not leave out the current conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. «Thank you for preventing the recent massacre in Karabakh. And of course I thank you … », begins Simonyan, before she stutters nervously.
“I’m not usually nervous when I speak in front of an audience, but now, seeing what’s happening in Donetsk every day, I can’t keep calm and worry. Thank you for pulling our people from the bloody mouths of those cannibals. That you decided to do it!”
The city of Donetsk, which has been under separatist control for eight years, has come under repeated fire. As a result, three floors of a hospital collapsed on Tuesday. The Ukrainian army is blamed for the attack.
Simonian promises to continue to support Putin on his warpath. ‘We’ll help you take out the cannibals for as long as you ask us to. I serve Russia.” (man)