"They just forced us to do what we are doing now and they are trying to make us guilty," Putin told a meeting with representatives of the Russian business community.
He stressed that it was not Russia that organized a "bloody coup" in Ukraine.
Putin also noted that after the coup by the Kiev regime, Ukraine began persecuting and killing civilians in Donbass.
Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Putin said the goal was “to protect people who have been subjected to abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.”
He described the operation as a necessary measure, insisting that Russia was left with “no other choice,” and that the security risks had reached a point where no other response was possible.
Putin added that Russia had spent 30 years trying to reach an agreement with NATO on European security principles but was repeatedly met with deceit, lies, pressure and blackmail. Despite Moscow’s protests, the alliance continued to expand steadily toward Russia’s borders.