During a meeting with representatives of the various parliamentary factions of the Duma (Lower House, Russian Parliament), President Vladimir Putin challenged the West to arm Ukraine. He assured them that the war had not started “seriously”, and warned that the longer kyiv refuses to capitulate, the harder it will be for the West to end the war and reach an accord.
“We heard they wanted to defeat us on a battlefield, what can we say? Let them try,” Putin said to the lawmakers. Putin stated that the West wanted to fight until the end Ukrainian. This is a terrible situation for the Ukrainian people. But, everything should move in this direction. The Russian top leader warned that “everyone must know that, in general,” we have not started anything serious yet.
Putin also assured that he had not rejected peace talks. However, those who refuse to engage in them should be aware that the longer they wait, the more difficult it is for them to work with us. The Russian president stated that the West’s attempts to establish a new order in the world are doomed to fail (…) and they claim that the West started the war in Donbass in Ukraine. No. The West organized and supported the unconstitutional coup that took place in Ukraine in 2014. They are directly responsible. He reiterated that the “operation” in neighboring countries “will undoubtedly continue till it reaches its military goals.”
