Russia has been conducting a special military operation in Ukraine since February 24.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that Moscow will not allow the West to use Ukrainian people in order to weaken Russia.
“The West is using the people of Ukraine to split Russia and weaken it; we will never let it happen,” Putin said during his New Year address to the nation on Saturday.
He also stressed that “moral, historical rightness” is on Russia’s side.
The remarks come after the Russian president pointed out last week that Russia is open to a dialogue with all the sides on the peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, but that they have so far refused to negotiate.
"The policies of our geopolitical opponents, aimed at splitting up Russia, are at the roots of the Ukrainian conflict,” Putin said.
Referring to Moscow’s ongoing special operation in Ukraine, Putin underscored that Russia is doing the right thing there.
“I think we are acting in the right direction: we are protecting our national interests, the interests of our citizens, our people. And we just have no choice but to protect our citizens,” he said.
This was preceded by Putin emphasizing earlier this month that “the only real guarantor of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in its current borders could be Russia.”
The military operation Russia launched in Ukraine in February took place only because Moscow was left with no other option to resolve the crisis in Donbass, he added, noting how the ensuing situation was used to fan anti-Russian sentiment throughout the world.
Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, in order to defend the people of the Donbass republics, who had been suffering from Ukrainian attacks. Shortly afterwards, the Western countries started rolling out sanction packages against Russia and providing Kiev with military and financial aid. Moscow criticized the flow of weapons into Ukraine from Western nations, warning that it only aggravates the conflict.
Putin: Russia Doing Everything to End Ukraine Crisis, But Kiev Seeks to Reach Goals by Means of War
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan's city of Samarkand.
President Vladimir Putin told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Russia is doing everything to end the Ukraine crisis as soon as possible, as the Russian and Indian leaders met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan's city of Samarkand.
"I know your position on the conflict in Ukraine…the concerns that you have repeatedly expressed... We will do everything to ensure that this all stops as quickly as possible… However, Kiev refuses negotiations,” Putin told Modi, adding that the Ukrainian government is intent on reaching its goals by means of war.
"Nevertheless, we will always keep you informed of what is happening there,” Vladimir Putin added.
Ahead of the meeting with Vladimir Putin, Narendra Modi described Russia as a critical energy partner and vowed to explore the "huge potential in this area that remains untapped."
Earlier this week, Russia's ambassador to India, Denis Alipov, said the two countries were "very motivated" to ensure that the defense cooperation between the two strategic partners is "uninterrupted" by the Ukraine crisis. He pointed to the fact that India has maintained its stance of neutrality on the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and has continued active trade and military cooperation with Russia, despite Western criticism.
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