Putin’s surprising words about Ukraine. He could not imagine war

The Russian president was speaking at an international event that has been ongoing since Thursday 9th Cultural Forum in St. Petersburg. Putin noted at the outset The Ukrainian-Russian conflict of February 2014. It was then that pro-Russian separatists took advantage of the protests in Kiev’s Maidan Freedom Square to launch armed demonstrations in southeastern Ukraine.

in the beginning March 2014 year, the Russians annexed Crimea An internationally unrecognized referendum. It was held at gunpoint and impartial observers were barred from entering the peninsula.

In February 2022, after years of hybrid warfare in the Donbass, a full-scale invasion of the Russian military into Ukrainian territory took place.

Vladimir Putin said on Friday that “like many educated, skilled and talented people, before 2014, armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine is likely.” It wouldn’t have happened to him.

– If they had told me before 2014 that this was possible, I would have said: Are you crazy? – said Russia’s president, who was issued an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court in March over the war in Ukraine. – But I admit that people do not follow me, do not understand what is happening, of course, they have the right to have their own position, their own point of view – the president said.

According to Putin “You have to watch what people say, but also what they do.” – If this function is related harming one’s country and one’s nation, This action also takes place, we see, the royalty is transferred somewhere, let’s say to the enemy, this is a story. If this is an opinion, a view, an assessment of the situation – that’s a different story, the Russian leader explained unambiguously and said that the main factor of the conflict is the social mood and national identity of the inhabitants of the disputed territories.

He decided to comment on the arguments of the Russian president on X (formerly Twitter). Anton Herashchenko, Advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. According to the politician, Putin is “crazy” and his condition is getting worse.