Russia was forced to encroach on Ukrainian territory because of a coup in Kiev
“Crimea’s unification with Russia was never on the agenda before the coup in Ukraine,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said today at his annual news conference. He noted that it was impossible for Russia to refuse protection to Crimeans after the Ukrainian coup.
“The escalation of the situation began in 2014. What happened then? Coup. Bloody. People were killed and burned,” Putin said. “President Yanukovych agreed to everything, received guarantees from other countries for a peaceful resolution of the situation. How could we refuse Sevastopol and Crimea to take them under our protection?”
The president recalled the story, saying that with regard to Ukraine, “they have created a state that includes historic Russian territories.”
The Russian president also shared his “impression” that a third military operation was being prepared in Ukraine and that they were “warning Russia not to intervene”.
“We have to react,” Putin said.
Russia must think about its national security and constantly monitor the events in Ukraine, the president noted.
According to Putin, the main problem is that Kiev refuses to abide by the Minsk agreements, which he said are the only way to resolve the situation in Donbass.
In 2013, protests erupted in Ukraine over a decision by the authorities to suspend a policy aimed at integration with the European Union, which led to a coup and the overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovych.
FRAUD
The Russian president stressed that national security is Moscow’s number one priority and that Western countries have misled Russia by expanding NATO in Eastern Europe, despite their previous promises.
“Not an inch to the east – we were told in the 1990s. And what? They deceived us. There were five waves of NATO enlargement. Missile systems are appearing in Romania and Poland. Did we come to them? They came to us,” he said. the president. The West’s constant pressure on Russia can only be explained by the fact that Western countries consider Russia too big even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, he added.
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