Putin: Moscow was Forced to Launch Military Op Against Kiev

By Staff, Agencies

Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that his country was left with no choice but to launch its military operation in Ukraine because of the continued persecution of the people of Donbass by Kiev following the 2014 Western-backed Euromaidan coup.

During a meeting with a group of businessmen in the Kremlin on Monday, Putin said Moscow could not ignore the plight of Russian-speakers in the neighboring country.

He reiterated Russia’s position that the conflict stems from the turbulent events in Kiev in early 2014, when initially peaceful protests spiraled into riots and clashes with police, which led to the ouster of the democratically elected president, Viktor Yanukovich. The anti-Yanukovich forces included ultranationalist groups such as Right Sector and Svoboda.

“You need to understand that we weren’t the ones who orchestrated the coup in Ukraine,” Putin said. “[The West] has always told us that there should be democracy and elections… but they carried out a coup – a bloody one, in fact – as if it were normal. They later went on to suppress the Donbass, killing people with helicopters and jets.”

“They practically forced us into doing what we’re doing today, and now they’re trying to blame us for it,” he said.

Ukraine refused to implement the UN-backed 2014-15 Minsk accords, which would have granted autonomy to Donetsk and Lugansk.

Putin cited Ukraine’s failure to respect the Minsk accords and the attacks on the rights of Russian-speakers as “the root causes” of the conflict, describing Kiev’s actions as “genocide.”

He has since demanded that Ukraine drop its plans to join NATO in favor of becoming a permanently neutral state, and recognize Crimea and four other former Ukrainian regions as part of Russia.