Russia's Putin defends motivation for Ukraine attack, accuses West of backing 2014 coup

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday justified the offensive against Ukraine at an event as he stated that sending Russian forces to Ukraine was “a difficult decision, without a doubt.” Speaking in Moscow, addressing the all-female airline representatives on March 5, the Russian leader defended his decision, labelling it ‘unavoidable’ as he went on to narrate the series of events that led to the war, as well as his opinion on the situation. 

Putin ordered what he describes ‘military operation’ on Kyiv despite that the majority of Western countries ruled it “unjustifiable” and “unlawful.” NATO and its allies, including the UK and the US have since targeted the Russian businesses, private banks, and Oligarchs with tough and crippling sanctions. 

“I said this at the beginning of the operation, and I was talking about it before this decision was made. A difficult decision, without any doubt,” Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said, according to RT. He continued that the situation in Ukraine had spiralled “out of control” following the February 2014 “unconstitutional coup” after the Orange Revolution wherein the then pro-Russian Ukrainian leader president Viktor Yanukovych was toppled out of power. 

The latter had been living in exile in Russia since fleeing Ukraine in 2014 and is currently in Belarus. Pro Russia leader had been in disagreement to align itself or Ukraine more closely with the European Union or NATO. While his cabinet at the time agreed to send Ukrainian soldiers to support the US-led coalition in the 2003 Iraq War, the ousted Ukrainian leader was against seeking NATO membership. 

Putin accuses West of 'actively backing the coup' in Ukraine in 2014; 'people in Donbas not stray dogs'

Putin on Saturday accused the West, NATO, and the allied countries of “actively backing the coup” and overthrowing the former Ukrainian government. “They aren’t hiding this, and openly said they’d spent $5 billion on it,” he asserted. And while Crimea had reunited with Russia through a referendum, informed Putin, the dissidents in the southeastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions and majority that opposed the pro-West Ukrainian government “faced persecution,” Putin claimed. 

With the help of the arms flow into Ukraine by the foreign governments, Ukraine staged large-scale military operations in the Donbas region to curb pro-Russia voices. Putin went on to add that the violence was being wreaked against the pro-Russian forces despite the Minsk agreements signed by both parties, that set out a roadmap to a peaceful exit from the conflict. He also accused NATO of not handing guarantees as it rigorously supplied arms to Ukraine, Putin then stated that the West did not want to lose the support of Ukraine by making such proposals. He iterated that Russia does not want Ukraine to be admitted to NATO.

“Moscow had tried to do all it could to maintain the territorial integrity of Ukraine and, at the same time, protect the interests of the people of Donetsk and Lugansk, but Kyiv had blockaded the Donbas, oppressed its people, and shelled the Donbas,” Putin was quoted saying in the report.  In a harsher angry tone, the Russian president continued: “Listen, people in the Donbas are not stray dogs. Between 13,000 and 14,000 people have been killed over the years. More than 500 children have been killed or crippled. And what’s especially intolerable is that the so-called ‘civilized’ West preferred not to notice it during those eight years.”