President Vladimir Putin on Thursday reiterated his position that Russia did not start the war in Ukraine but launched what it calls a "special military operation" to try to stop it.
In his yearly speech to the Valdai Discussion Club, being held in Sochi, Putin said Russia, the world's largest country by area, had no need to take territory from Ukraine.
He said the conflict was not therefore imperial or territorial but about the global order, and that the West, which had lost its hegemonic power and always needed an enemy, had lost touch with reality.
Launching a "special military operation" is starting a war. You can call it a "pacifist peace offering operation", and it's still starting a war.
What Puta calls his starting of the war is irrelevant.
Nobody expected him to say the truth, or am I mistaken?
Sure, but now it’s in print (or at least digitally published), so later on there’s a mountain of journalism, this bit included, that says that he denies any wrongdoing. Every bit of getting his doublespeak out to the public helps
Peace is not war. As much as you should rightfully hate Putin for overstepping his boundaries and bullying Ukraine, he did not fucking start the war. Ukraine did. All the deaths, the destruction, everything? Ukraine's fault for not allowing a peaceful operation to happen that would have been eventually peacefully and justly resolved without the mass murder of innocents, including young children.
Sick of revisionist history, and the audacity of recent revisionist history. Putin is the bad guy here. Make no mistake. Do not think I am pro-Russia, pro-Putin here. But not a single bullet was fired, not a single person died before Ukraine decided to defend itself the only way a hateful, war-mongering, blood-thirsty country can.
Ok, not a single bullet was fired before Ukraine decided to defend itself? From what?
Bombs, missiles and artillery rounds.
The war started with long range weaponry so in a very strict and literal sense it's quite possible that Ukraine started defending itself before a single bullet was fired.
The previous commenter's imaginary universe might've actually crossed paths with reality by mere chance, a sort of propagand equivalente of "if you have an infinite number of monkeys typing a typewritters you'll end up with the complete works of Shakespear", i.e. "with enough derranged rambling, some of it might actually and by chance coincide with reality".
Was this supposed to be dark humor
According to his comment history that’s what he truly believes.
I never thought there would be such a thing as too much sarcasm. It bends reality and circles back on itself. Impressive.
I appreciate his integrity to not use /s but die to the social media mob like a real man.
Nah just look at his history. That’s not sarcasm.
I think I became dumber. This guy actually believes Putin didn't invade a country and cause the murder of Ukrainian children with his troops in the first place. He wins first prize for the Russia Propaganda Delusions Awards.
World War 2 was started by France and Britain declaring war, Germany merely did a peaceful operation in Poland.
The fuck are you on about?
If gang breaks into your home, starts destroying your things, and manhandling your family, you just gonna sit there and let them do it because it would be "eventually peacefully and justly resolved"?
If your answer isn't "no", then you're a liar. You'd defend your home and your family, because that's the right thing to do…
It wouldn't be "hateful", "war-mongering", or "blood-thirsty" it'd be heroic.
So how can you sit there and say to us that you expect the whole of Ukraine to just allow that to happen to themselves??
To watch this band of 100,000 men take everything away from them - their culture, their homes, their lives - and do jack shit about it?!
The war didn't start with a bullet, it started when Putin's army marched into Ukrainian soil to claim it as their own.
You sound like the type of person who blames the victim of a bully when they inevitably lash out. If you aren't, you're doing a bad job of proving it.
Test that theory. Leave Ukraine and see how much longer the war continues.
Including Crimea
Yep, out of Ukraine.
“No no no…. That convoy wasn’t tanks, it was FARM EQUIPMENT!” -Putin.
“Well, it’s farm equipment….now”- Ukrainian Farmersdeleted by creator
Biden and the whole western world told him every day for at least a month not to do it and he said every day that he's not going to do it.
Then he started the war in Ukraine.
Putin lies. Putin does nothing but lies.
It's why everyone stopped making agreements with Russia. They have no obligation to hold to the agreements, their word is worth nothing.
…and how is that going, clown-shoes?
and that the West, which had lost its hegemonic power and always needed an enemy, had lost touch with reality.
Is the "West" in the room with you right now? No? Well you're going to be in a world of shit if the "West" ever bothers to show up, huh?
And speaking of hegemonic power, remind me again who's "traditional allies" are publicly & actively ghosting them?
Russia is going to have to start importing copium from North Korea soon.
BTW, Reuters, the word you're so desperately trying to forget exists when you're talking about Putin is lie. He lied. He's a lying liar.
Is the "West" in the room with you right now?
I heard that "the west" caused him to stub his toe this morning too. And mismatched his socks in the dryer.
The West and the Woke living rent free in dictator, and tyrannical supporter’s dreams.
Russian officials have literally said they're going to commit Ukrainian genocide and go after Poland next but sure they're the victim /s
Cool story, blyat.
That one took me a sec.
What is it?
"There is no war in Ba Sing Se" avatar the last airbender reference
Run that through the good old projection filter real quick…
… Ah, shit.
Wake up honey new hexbear talking points just dropped
You can put "Putin lies" in the title, Reuters. He isn't going to sue you.
Reuters is literally owned by Russian gov.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomson_Reuters
You should update Wikipedia, they think it's owned by the Thompson family, a Canadian media conglomerate.
This "article" is three sentences with line breaks so they look like paragraphs.
This is what passes for journalism these days.
I’m guessing that Reuters request for an interview was turned down. Sometimes all you need is three lines. If this was a CNN article or Fox News it would be 10 paragraphs of saying nothing but recapping Russia’s invasion of Ukraine while also adding this in. I find it to be a fine article to point out how Putin is interacting with his international cohorts. It’s to the point and says what needs to be said
I didn't rape you, I had sex with you to prevent you from whoring yourself!!!
Removed by mod
"We're giving them rest and peace by putting them in graves!"
Can we collectively start down voting all the headlines that boil down to "world leader makes meaningless propaganda statement"
The admins would remove it as an opinion piece if a reporter made such a claim but it's somehow different if they hold office?
If a reporter had millions of soldiers, thousands of nuclear weapons, a submarine fleet, the world's largest standing tank deployment… at their beck and call, to enforce their every whim, then yes the mad reporters ravings would be newsworthy.
