– Russia, as Putin has said, claims southeastern Ukraine and its western neighbors Poland, Romania and Hungary – territories lost as a result of World War II. This is how the Russian president sees the geopolitical situation in the world.
At a meeting of the Defense Ministry’s Council on Tuesday, Putin said the main reason for the start of the war in Ukraine was US efforts to pull Ukraine into NATO. – They kept telling me: “What you are afraid of, we will not accept them now.” I replied: “Not now, but tomorrow? When will tomorrow come? In a year, in two years?” From the perspective of the history and strategic interests of the Russian state, 10 or even 15 years is unacceptable – he reported to the military about his conversations with Western politicians. However, this was only the beginning of Putin’s nonsense.
All the strange words said by Putin
Putin said preparations for a coalition that would “attract Nazi collaborators from Ukraine” (as Putin calls officials in Kiev) have been underway in the US since Soviet times. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, US policy towards Ukraine was – according to Putin – “supporting politicians with nationalist views”.
– We tried to fight it. By what means? First, economically, you know: we sold energy resources at low prices, gave loans … and did everything to patiently build relations, Putin said.
In particular – according to the Russian president – the Kremlin is focusing on the southeast of Ukraine, which should be a counterweight to the “nationalists” in the west of the country, who are demanding Ukraine’s membership in the European Union and NATO.
ODD Anderson/AFP/Eastern News
Volodymyr Zelensky next to Rishi Sunak and Joe Biden at the NATO summit in Vilnius
– These political forces and these leaders who aspired to the highest positions in the country should always take into account the opinion of the voters of South-Eastern Ukraine. We cannot come to power without them. However, as soon as they won, they were immediately forgotten, and no one remembered their interests and demands. They immediately succumbed to the actions of radical nationalists, Putin continued.
– By pulling us out of Ukraine and severing Russia’s ties with Europe, the Americans unfortunately got what they wanted. We cannot do otherwise. We have to give it our all and see them achieve ours. We couldn’t do it, they knew it. They deliberately dragged us and Europe into this conflict, and in this sense they achieved their goals: they brought Russia and Europe into conflict, Putin admitted.
“These are Russian historical regions”
At the end of his speech to the troops, he said that only Russia guarantees the territorial integrity of modern Ukraine. He also mentioned that he is planning to divide it.
MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/AFP/East News
Vladimir Putin in a meeting with the leadership of the Russian Ministry of Defense
Putin called the western part of Ukraine the historic lands of Poland, which Stalin “gave away after World War II”. At the same time it recalls the territorial acquisitions of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic at the expense of Romania and Hungary.
— 10 million people live there… and the people who live there – at least many of them, I know this for sure – want to return to their historical homeland. In turn, the countries that lost these territories, primarily Poland, dream of regaining them, Putin concluded.
