President Vladimir Putin once again called on Russians to give up alcohol, reviving during his address to the nation one of the topics he has been talking about more and more in recent years.

“More people need to play sports, funds will be allocated to improve the sports infrastructure. Quit drinking, go skiing!” he urged, promising that the Russian government has “plans” to increase life expectancy in Russia to ensure the next generation is strong and resilient.”

Putin also spoke about the issue during his time as prime minister of Russia during the coup d’état with Dmitry Medvedev, including in 2009 asking for support from the WHO to help Russia fight the disaster.

But the investigative website Meduza revealed in a major story published after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that Putin has become more concerned about the issue in recent years as his calls to give up alcohol have proven unpopular with Russians.

Meduza sources said at the time that Putin began to pay more attention to this issue due to the fact that, amid the war in Ukraine, Russian officials began to drink alcohol much more often and much more.

Putin urges Russians to drink less and have more children

At a meeting In a previous meeting with alcohol producers, Putin rebuked them when they told him that “Russians literally grew up on alcohol.”

“I grew up with breast milk (…) Even good, high-quality alcoholic beverages are still based on alcohol. It provides power for a very short period of time, then…” the head of the Kremlin told them.

In a wide-ranging speech he gave to the Russian people on Wednesday, he also said that “our religion and moral values ​​are at the forefront here.”

“Multiple children should become the norm. In the next six years, we must achieve a stable birth rate. We offer measures to support families with many children,” he said.

He began his speech by saying that “this speech is a look into the future, there are problems that need to be solved for the development of the country” and that he was addressing “Russians all over the country, including teachers, volunteers and soldiers.”

Putin also assured that Russia has no intention of attacking any of the NATO countries in Europe, saying that the warnings of Western officials in this regard are nothing but “nonsense”.

Follow the latest events of the 736th day of the war in Ukraine LIVETEXT on HOTNEWS.RO.