Putin Said The War Was "started By Ukraine And The West"

• 4.12.2025, 22:20

The Russian dictator made a series of bizarre statements in India.

Russia did not recognize the illegal separatist "republics" in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions of Ukraine ("DNR" and "LNR") for eight years, but was "forced" to do so. This is what illegitimate Russian President Vladimir Putin told India Today during his visit to New Delhi.

"We told Ukraine that people don't want to live with them," said the Russian dictator, who is on a visit to India.

He repeated Russian propaganda narratives that the Kremlin did not invade Ukraine, a transcript of the interview is cited by the Kremlin's official website.

"We did not recognize the self-proclaimed republics for eight years, eight years! They declared independence, and we tried to establish relations between the rest of Ukraine and these republics. Then, when we realized that it was impossible, that they were simply being destroyed, we had to recognize them - and not just recognize them in part of the territory, but within the administrative borders, when they existed back in Soviet times, and then during the times of independent Ukraine, after it gained independence, within the administrative borders," the Russian dictator said.

According to him, Russia did not launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"We did not start this war, it was done by the West and Ukraine. After eight years of unceasing violence against us in Donbass, which the West is not talking about, the war started," Putin pronounced.

He is certain that Ukraine must withdraw its troops from "Russian territory" and "stop killing people so that this war ends."