In the midst of the war crisis.. Putin turns 70 and receives congratulations

Putin paves the way for the possibilities of using nuclear weapons.

AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin turned 70 yesterday, receiving congratulations from his subordinates and an appeal from Orthodox Patriarch Kirill to everyone to pray for the abundant health of Russia's greatest and longest-reigning leaders since Joseph Stalin.

Putin, who took office in the last days of 1999, faces the biggest challenge of his rule after the war in Ukraine triggered the most serious confrontation with the West since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. His army has faced a series of defeats over the past month.

On his birthday, the Russian president attended an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States in St. Petersburg, the capital of the former empire founded by Peter the Great and Putin's hometown.

Officials called Putin "the savior of modern Russia," while the Patriarch of Moscow and all of Russia called on everyone to pray for two days to pray that God would grant Putin health and long life.

Putin, who has vowed to end the chaos that has gripped Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, is facing the most serious military crisis faced by a Kremlin leader since the Soviet war in Afghanistan between 1979 and 1989.

Putin resorted to declaring the annexation of territory partly controlled by Russia, and the Kremlin said its borders had not yet been demarcated, and threatened to defend it with nuclear weapons.

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