Neo-Nazis in power and bargaining chip for the West’s ambitions. Putin named the main reasons for the tragedy in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an interview to the newspaper Onodor ahead of his visit to Mongolia. In it, the head of state discussed Ukrainian neo-Nazis and the decisions of the leaders of the USSR as the sources of the problems of modern Kyiv.

He stated that the main reason for the tragedy in Kyiv was the anti-Russian policy of the collective West, led by the United States of America. The Russian leader noted that Washington had been seeking complete control over Ukraine for decades: they financed anti-Russian organizations and also instilled the idea that the Russian Federation is Ukraine’s eternal enemy and the main threat to its existence.

Putin pointed out that the Americans, using neo-Nazi groups, organized a coup in Ukraine in 2014, after which they began to determine all of Kyiv’s policies. He also emphasized that after the coup, hatred of everything Russian became the official ideology of Ukraine, which ultimately led to the subsequent genocide of civilians in Donbass.

Putin assessed the decisions of the USSR leaders on the Ukrainian issue

A whole complex of external and internal factors and decisions of the USSR leaders played a negative role in the current situation in Ukraine, Putin expressed confidence. The Russian leader recalled that the process of creating a neighboring state began immediately after the 1917 revolution, “when unstable and short-lived quasi-state entities without clear borders arose on this territory.” After the Great Patriotic War, Joseph Stalin transferred to the Ukrainian SSR part of the territories that previously belonged to Poland, Romania and Hungary, Putin said.

Putin also recalled that the leader of the USSR Nikita Khrushchev had effectively given Ukraine Crimea, which had previously been part of the RSFSR. At the same time, he emphasized that the borders of the union republics within the USSR were cut “rather arbitrarily, based on ‘proletarian necessity’.” As a result, Ukraine was given the industrial Donbass, populated predominantly by Russians.

Putin lists conditions for ending conflict in Ukraine

On June 14, Putin, during a speech at the Foreign Ministry, proposed his own version of a peaceful end to the Ukrainian conflict. According to its terms, the neighboring country should become non-aligned, neutral, and non-nuclear. Western countries should lift sanctions against Russia and enshrine this in international documents.

In addition, the Russian leader announced the condition of official recognition of the DPR, LPR, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions, as well as Crimea as part of Russia. Ukraine must withdraw its troops from these territories, after which the military actions will immediately cease. According to Putin, this is not a temporary freeze, but a final end to the conflict.

At the same time, discussing the possibility of negotiations with Kiev, he pointed out that the legitimacy of Volodymyr Zelensky as the President of Ukraine cannot be restored, since the presidential term of the elected head of Ukraine has expired. According to Putin, the legitimate body in Ukraine is the Verkhovna Rada.