Putin: It wasn't Russia that started the war in Ukraine, but the West
MOSCOW, December 17. /TASS/. The de facto war on Ukrainian territory was started by destructive forces in Kyiv, but essentially by the West. Russia, however, is trying to stop this conflict, Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized at an expanded meeting of the Defense Ministry Board.
The head of state recalled what happened in Ukraine after the 2014 coup. "It wasn't us who started the war in 2022; it was the destructive forces in Ukraine, with the support of the West—in essence, the West itself unleashed this war," Putin said. "We are only trying to finish it, to put a stop to it."
Speaking of the West's involvement in the coup in Ukraine, Putin expressed indignation: "What kind of democracy is this, the kind they've been pouring into us for decades?" "It was simply an armed coup! Well, they should have gone to the polls, as I've said a hundred times before. They would have won. Nothing stood in their way. They would have won for sure. No! They simply showed their strength, and that's it. Then they began suppressing the Southeast. The Southeast regions practically unleashed a war by force," Putin described.