Russian President Vladimir Putin, in response to a question from Director General of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives Svetlana Chupsheva, explained today that this morning’s drone strikes on Moscow, apparently aimed at residential buildings, were a function of the war on Russia in general. “Basically, the territory that is called Ukraine was virtually controlled from the very beginning by people who, being led by the West, took the path of not just confronting Russia, but creating an ‘anti-Russia’ on that territory,” he said at the outset. “They had to have consideration for the people who lived in the southeast of Ukraine: these were voters, a large number of voters, who had to be reckoned with.”
Putin noted that Ukraine’s 1991 declaration of independence described Ukraine as a neutral country but it gradually turned to a different path, that of joining NATO. “In 2014, as you know, they carried out a coup d’état and simply began to destroy everyone who, one way or another, wanted to build normal relations with Russia,” Putin continued. “They also unleashed a war and military operations in Donbass. Then they deceived everyone to keep their guard down, declaring that they wanted to resolve the issue through peaceful means.”
This was the situation that Russia had to respond to with the special military operation, including precision strikes on military targets inside Ukraine. “We have talked about the possibility of striking at decision-making centers. Of course, the headquarters of Ukrainian military intelligence is one of them, and a strike at this target was carried out two or three days ago,” Putin said. “In response, the Kiev regime has chosen a different path—attempts to intimidate Russian citizens with strikes at residential buildings. This is an obvious terrorist approach.”