As for the war in Ukraine, Putin says Russia cannot be blamed

FLY – President Russia Vladimir Putin believes his side is not to blame for the war in Ukraine . According to him, the two countries “share a tragedy”.

During a televised address with senior military officials, the Russian president said he continued to see Ukraine as a “sister country”.

In February, President Putin sent up to 200,000 troops to Ukraine, sparking a war that has claimed thousands of lives. He said the conflict was “the result of third country policies”.

The theory, which implicates Western expansion as the cause, has been repeatedly rejected by those outside Russia.

In his speech, Putin said that the West has “brainwashed” post-Soviet republics, starting with Ukraine.

“For many years we have been trying to build good neighborly relations with Ukraine by offering loans and cheap energy, but without success,” he said. BBCThursday (22/12/2022).

President Putin’s long-standing concern appears to stem from NATO’s growth since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

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NATO’s original goal was to challenge Russia’s post-World War II expansion, but the Kremlin has long argued that NATO accepted a former Soviet ally because membership in the military bloc threatened its security.

In his speech, President Putin continued: “There is nothing to accuse us of. We have always considered Ukrainians as brothers and I still do.”