Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he had “no choice” but to attack Ukraine to defend his country from “security threats”.
“It must be clear: the things that are happening are a forced measure,” Putin told a meeting with businessmen in the Kremlin. “They just left us no choice,” he added.
The Russian president, who ordered the attack at around 6 am (local time), said “the security risks are such that it was impossible to respond by other means”, referring to the refusal of the United States and NATO to grant Russia binding security guarantees in which they would commit not to extend the military alliance further east, that is, not to include Ukraine and not to deploy offensive weapons near the country’s borders.
“I repeat: it is a step that we were obliged to take, because they (in the West) could create such risks for us that it is not clear how our country could continue to exist”, he stressed.
Dozens of people were arrested on Thursday in Moscow in different protests against Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to local news portals.
According to the independent portal Meduza, the protests were also organized in other Russian cities, where arrests also took place.
In the Russian capital alone, about 700 people participate in the act against the Russian operation in Ukraine, reports the portal, which acts as a “foreign agent” in the country. Protesters march through the capital’s central avenues chanting “No to war”.
Among those arrested in Moscow for the demonstration against the war in Ukraine are activist Marina Litvinovich and theater director Yevgeny Berkovich.
Russian authorities have warned against organizing unauthorized mass actions, saying that violating the law could lead to various punishments, including criminal liability.
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