Russian President Vladimir Putin sought on Monday (September 1, 2025) to defend his Ukraine offensive to Moscow’s allies, blaming the West for triggering the three-and-a-half year war that has killed tens of thousands and devastated much of eastern Ukraine.
“This crisis was not triggered by Russia’s attack on Ukraine, but was a result of a coup in Ukraine, which was supported and provoked by the West,” Mr. Putin said at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in the Chinese city of Tianjin.
