The multipolar world order is already a reality and “no one is ready to play by rules set some place overseas”, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared during the annual Valdai Forum.
He urged European politicians to stop their “anti-Russian hysteria”, claimed that 44,700 Ukrainian soldiers were killed or wounded in September, and called US President Donald Trump a “comfortable conversation partner”.
The world is currently undergoing extensive transformation and the already established multipolar world order is a direct consequence of Western powers’ attempts to establish global hegemony, Putin argued during a speech at the Valdai Forum on Thursday.
The Russian president also outlined the Russian armed forces’ alleged successes in Ukraine and Kiev’s losses, and urged European leaders to address their own countries’ problems instead of engaging in what he described as “anti-Russian hysteria”.
Putin also expressed positive views about the new American administration’s pragmatic approach to international issues.
Nothing is predetermined
The current global situation, characterized by rapid and often dramatic changes, requires readiness for all developments. Individual responsibility is particularly important and “the stakes in the current situation are extremely high”, Putin said.
A multipolar world has already taken shape, according to the Russian president. “Virtually nothing is predetermined. Everything could unfold in different ways. Much depends on the precision, deliberateness, restraint, and thoughtfulness of each international actor’s actions”, he said.
Putin emphasized that in a multipolar world, all countries must seek common ground for their interests. “No one is ready to play by rules set some place overseas”, he stated.
— The relationships within the global majority, the prototype of political practices necessary and effective in a polycentric world, are based on pragmatism and realism, a rejection of bloc philosophy, and the absence of rigid, unilaterally imposed obligations or models with senior and junior partners, Putin explained.
He called the “bloc mentality” that certain countries have in order to trigger confrontation meaningless and anachronistic. New international organizations like BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) are developing today in “the spirit of 21st-century diplomacy”, Putin said. “They are not against anyone; they are for themselves”.
On October 1, the he Plenary Session within the framework of the Valdai Club’s 22nd Annual Meetingvtook place in Sochi, featuring Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Photo gallery — https://t.co/s1VAPbKxaP
Video — https://t.co/JlNa7jffRH#valdai2025 pic.twitter.com/VcxAH2rjuY
— Valdai Club (@Valdai_Club) October 2, 2025
Sharp criticism of Europe
Putin stated that the power of the US and its allies reached its peak at the end of the 20th century, but that there is not, and never will be, a force that can govern the world and dictate to everyone “how to breathe”.
— Attempts were made, but they all ended in failure, he said.
The Russian president directed sharp criticism at European politicians who he believes are trying to “patch up holes in the European edifice” by incorrectly creating an image of Russia as an enemy.
— The ruling elites of united Europe continue to whip up hysteria. It turns out that war with the Russians is almost on their doorstep. They repeat this nonsense, this mantra, over and over again, Putin said.
— Frankly, I feel like telling them, calm down, get some rest, and finally, deal with your own issues, he continued.
Russia’s leader also warned that Moscow is closely following the escalating militarization of Europe, and that Russia’s countermeasures “will not be long in coming”. He noted that there are those who hope to deliver a “strategic defeat” to Russia, but argued that even the “most obtuse hardheads” will soon realize that this is impossible.
The situation in Ukraine
Putin placed responsibility for the failed efforts to stop hostilities on “the minority, not the majority”.
— This primarily refers to Europe, which constantly escalates the conflict; there can be seen no other goal that they pursue today, he said.
The Russian president accused the West and their “servants in Kiev” of treating the Ukrainian people as expendable, a “destructive tool in others’ hands”. Putin also stated that Russian armed forces are steadily creating a buffer zone along the entire front line.
— this work is proceeding smoothly, calmly, and according to plan… As of today, the Russian army is the most combat-ready army, Putin claimed, asserting that while Russian armed forces have indeed suffered losses, these are much smaller than those of the Ukrainian military.
Russian troops have, according to him, captured two-thirds of Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region and taken Kirovsk in Donetsk under their full control. The settlement of Yunakovka in the Sumy region is under Russian army control and Volchansk in the Kharkiv region is half-controlled.
Russian troops have entered Seversk, Konstantinovka and Krasnoarmeysk in the Donetsk People’s Republic, and need only to liberate 0.13 percent of the territory in the Luhansk People’s Republic.
He claimed there is “confusion in the ranks of the Ukrainian military” and that they do not understand what is happening on the front line. The Ukrainian army lost around 44,700 soldiers at the engagement line in September, where irreversible losses accounted for half of this figure, according to Putin. From January to August, a total of 150,000 Ukrainian military personnel deserted, he claimed.
Pragmatic view of the US
Putin stated that Russia and the US have different views on many “global problems,” but that “for major powers, this is actually normal”. Solutions to contradictions that would satisfy both sides are entirely possible to find, he argued.
— Whatever the disagreements, if we treat each other with respect, then bargaining, even the toughest and most persistent, will still aim to reach a consensus, and this means that mutually acceptable solutions are possible.
He appreciated that the current American authorities, unlike their predecessors, express their ambitions clearly and distinctly.
— It’s always better to clearly understand what other persons are up to and what they’re trying to achieve than to try to discern the real meaning in a series of understatements, ambiguities, and vague hints.
— We see that the current US administration is guided primarily by the interests of its own country, he continued.
During a visit to Alaska, the restoration of bilateral relations was discussed, since according to Putin they are “not just at an impasse, but at the lowest level in all of recent memory”. Putin further described American President Donald Trump as a comfortable conversation partner who “knows how to listen and hear.”
Furthermore, Russia is ready to support President Trump’s proposal to resolve the conflict in the Gaza Strip if it leads to the creation of two separate states, since this step is key to a “final resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict”, Putin said.
