Vladimir Putin. Photo: Getty Images
Russian ruler Vladimir Putin has told his military that Ukraine will sooner or later lose its western lands, that left-bank Ukraine has always been considered part of Russia, and that today in Ukraine "everyone has fallen out with each other".
Source: Putin speaking on Sunday at a meeting with Russian navy personnel, as reported by the Kremlin-aligned Russian news agency TASS and the Telegram channels Vy slushali mayak (You have been listening to Radio Mayak) and Smotri, which have published video excerpts of the speech
Details: Putin claimed, as usual, that "there is no aggression whatsoever on Russia's part" and that the Russians had been "forced to launch the SMO in an attempt to end hostilities that had already been started by the Western side and the Kyiv regime". The Russians refer to their unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine using the term "the special military operation" (SMO).
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