Russian President Vladimir Putin said that despite the war he unleashed against Ukraine, he considers the Ukrainian people fraternal. He stated this during a meeting of the military board on December 21..

\! I speak with full responsibility, we have always considered the Ukrainian people to be fraternal. I still think so. What is happening is, of course, our tragedy. Our common tragedy. But it is not the result of our policy. It is the result of the policy of other countries, third countries, which have always striven for this - the disintegration of the Russian world,"

In his opinion, it was the West that did not give Russia “a chance to restore relations with this part of our people”.

Also, Putin said that "

" But since this is inevitable, it is better today than tomorrow,"

In his opinion, Russia has everything, not just handouts.

“I'm not talking about our neighbors anymore. They will soon have everything in the form of handouts - and money, and weapons, and ammunition. Only handouts, ”the President of the Russian Federation believes.

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Recall that Russia started a war against Ukraine back in 2014, annexing Crimea and forming separatist groups in the Donbass..

On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine under the pretext of "