By Sabiu Abdullahi
Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared that NATO has been unable to achieve its objective of defeating Russia through the conflict in Ukraine, as he renewed criticism of the Western military alliance.
Putin made the remarks at the Kremlin during a meeting with military personnel involved in what Moscow describes as its special military operation. The event formed part of activities marking Russia Day.
According to the Russian leader, his country is confronting what he called the collective West, led by NATO, with several nations backing actions against Russia.
”It was them (NATO) who started the war,” he emphasized. “I have said this many times, we did not initiate the conflict when the special military operation began (in 2022).”
Putin maintained that developments in Ukraine before the outbreak of hostilities forced Russia to take action. He argued that what he described as NATO’s “coup d’etat in Ukraine” and the deployment of military systems prompted Moscow to protect residents of Crimea in 2014, which later contributed to fighting in eastern Ukraine.
“We did not wake up one day and decided that we would start a war tomorrow,” he said. “For eight years, we attempted to achieve a peaceful settlement.”
The Russian president also recalled efforts by Moscow to encourage dialogue between Ukrainian authorities and residents of southeastern Ukraine. He said Russia repeatedly received assurances that existing agreements would be implemented.
Putin further claimed that recent statements from Western officials showed that the Minsk Agreements were used to give Kyiv time to strengthen its military capabilities before continuing the conflict.
He also criticized countries that joined NATO, alleging that some did so “in the hope of securing their share of the benefits.”
Addressing ongoing diplomatic efforts involving Ukraine and several European countries, Putin said Russia remains open to discussions. However, he stressed that any agreement must take into account Moscow’s “long-term” interests.
”There is only one piece of advice we can offer our adversaries: do not fight Russia. Never attempt to do so,” he warned. “Those (talks) must be genuine negotiations, not ultimatums.”
The comments come as diplomatic efforts to find a resolution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict continue, more than four years after the war escalated in 2022.