Putin reveals regrets about the campaign in Ukraine

Khánh Minh |

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the decision to launch a military operation in Ukraine should probably be made earlier than 2022.

RT reported that at his annual year-end press conference on December 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that if he had known how events would unfold, Russia should have been more prepared for such actions.

Russia deployed troops across the border in February 2022, accusing the Ukrainian government of outrightly rejecting all agreements and increasing shelling of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. Just weeks later, the two sides came close to reaching a ceasefire, but Kiev backed down under pressure from the West, encouraged by promises of unlimited military support.

“You know, if I could look back at 2022, knowing what is happening now, what do I think? The decision that was made in early 2022 should have been taken earlier,” Putin said during the question-and-answer session of the press conference. “And secondly, if we had known in advance, we would have started to systematically prepare for these operations, including special military operations.”

The Russian leader noted that the events in Crimea following the Western-backed coup in Kiev in 2014 unfolded spontaneously, and the 2022 operations also began without significant preparation.

“Why did we launch the operation? Because we cannot stand still and wait for the situation to get worse for us – that is the reason,” Putin explained.

Quang canh buoi hop bao thuong nien ngay 19.12.2024. Anh: TASS
Scene of the annual press conference on December 19, 2024. Photo: TASS

President Putin recalled that the Ukrainian authorities have clearly stated that they will not comply with the Minsk agreements and have made statements about the possession of weapons of mass destruction. According to him, Russia cannot continue to tolerate the killing of civilians in Kiev's so-called "anti-terrorist operation" in Donbass.

“Eight years of war and the destruction of the population in Donbass… they abandoned the Minsk agreements. Moreover, we see a real military occupation of these areas and the systematic destruction of everything connected with Russia,” Putin said.

“We had to act. If we had known in advance what was going to happen, we would have prepared systematically and seriously. That is what I mean,” Putin added.

The Russian president also stressed the complexity of the ongoing conflict, saying that it is difficult to predict how long it will last. “Combat operations are very complex, so it is difficult and unnecessary to make predictions. We are moving towards solving the main tasks, outlined at the very beginning of the special military operation, such as neutralization, demilitarization of Ukraine," Putin noted.

At the same time, Russia has never ruled out the possibility of negotiations. President Putin reiterated that Moscow remains ready for dialogue with the legitimate authorities in Kiev without any preconditions, except those agreed in Istanbul in 2022.

According to those preliminary agreements, Ukraine remains neutral and non-aligned, and there are certain restrictions on the deployment of foreign weapons. Mr. Putin also noted that such negotiations must respect the realities that have developed on the ground since then.

Khánh Minh
TIN LIÊN QUAN

Russia's economic growth surpasses the US and China, leading Europe

|

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia leads economic growth in Europe according to international organizations.

2 million questions waiting for Mr. Putin to answer at year-end press conference

|

AI technology was used for the first time at Russian President Vladimir Putin's year-end press conference on December 19.

Russia develops new missile as powerful as nuclear weapons

|

Russia is in the final stages of developing a series of new strategic missile systems with superior power, no less than nuclear weapons.

13 Nghe An police officers retire early

|

Nghe An - 4 Department Heads, District Police Chiefs and 9 Deputy Department Heads, Deputy District Police Chiefs volunteered to retire early.

Cao Bang Provincial Party Secretary has new duties

|

Mr. Quan Minh Cuong - Secretary of Cao Bang Provincial Party Committee - was approved to hold the position of Head of the National Assembly Delegation of the 15th term of Cao Bang province.

The worker's initiative helps the sugar factory develop stably

|

Gia Lai - Some technical initiatives of Mr. Huynh Quoc Tuan have helped the company save hundreds of millions of dong in production costs each year.

Tran Thanh's beauty is praised to be more beautiful than Ky Duyen and Tieu Vy

|

Among the female leads chosen by Tran Thanh, Phuong Anh Dao is highly appreciated for both her beauty and acting ability.

Determining the cause of the 3-truck pile-up in Binh Dinh

|

Binh Dinh - An accident between 3 trucks occurred on the National Highway 1A bypass. Authorities determined that the truck driver was driving in the wrong lane, causing the accident.

Russia's economic growth surpasses the US and China, leading Europe

Ngọc Vân |

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia leads economic growth in Europe according to international organizations.

2 million questions waiting for Mr. Putin to answer at year-end press conference

Khánh Minh |

AI technology was used for the first time at Russian President Vladimir Putin's year-end press conference on December 19.

Russia develops new missile as powerful as nuclear weapons

Ngọc Vân |

Russia is in the final stages of developing a series of new strategic missile systems with superior power, no less than nuclear weapons.