Putin named those responsible for the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine

The conflict in Ukraine was provoked not by Russia, but by those who came to power in Kyiv after the coup in 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with members of the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights.

“The war was started, you know this much better than anyone else, not by us, but in 2014 after the coup in Ukraine. It was launched by the then Ukrainian authorities, who came to the corridors of power with the help of this coup d’état, to suppress the will of the people living in the Donbass, ”Putin said after a speech by Kirill Vyshinsky, Chairman of the Permanent Commission of the Council for International Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights.

At the end of November, the head of state at a meeting with the mothers of servicemen – participants in the special operation declaredthat Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine would not have been carried out now if there had not been a coup d’état in that country in 2014.

“After that (the coup d’etat. – Ed.), they actually came to power … Bandera in essence. And what are Bandera? Neo-Nazis,” Putin said at the meeting. The President added that they had previously had influence on what was happening in Ukraine, but after the coup, they occupied all key government posts. Bandera’s accomplices shot Russians, Poles and Jews, but in recent years in Ukraine such people have been elevated to the rank of national heroes, Putin said.

During this meeting, Putin also stated that reunification with Donbas should have happened earlier.

The special operation in Ukraine began on February 24, it was preceded by Russia’s recognition of the independence of the DPR and LPR proclaimed in the spring of 2014 on February 22 and their subsequent appeal to Russia for military assistance “based on articles 3 and 4 of the treaties of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance between the Russian Federation and the republics “.

The president called the goals of the special operation the protection of the inhabitants of Donbass, the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine. During the NMD, Russian troops took control of the LPR, as well as most of the DPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions. Subsequently, these territories became part of Russia.

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