The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, said Thursday whatE “all Ukraine is ours”arguing that, in his vision, Russians and Ukrainians constitute “the same people”. The statements occurred during the Plenary of the International Economic Forum of St. Petersburg, in an intervention broadcast live on Russian state television.
“I have already said it many times, I consider that the Russian and Ukrainian peoples are the same people. In that sense, all Ukraine is ours”Putin said.
The president also evoked an ancient Russian rule: “Where a boot of a Russian soldier is our“, underlining a historical and territorial vision that has marked his speech since the beginning of the conflict.
The Russian leader also addressor the possibility of expanding the military offensive towards the Ukrainian region of Sumiin the north of the country, where the Russian army has established a security strip of between 10 and 12 kilometers wide.
“The following is Sumi. The regional capital (…) we have no such goal: to conquer Sumi. But, In principle, I don’t rule it out“Putin said, leaving the door open to new military operations.
Putin insisted that, throughout the war, kyiv has proposed several times put an end to hostilitieswarning that Russian conditions at the negotiating table will be “increasingly demanding.”
Reactions and consequences
Putin’s statements reinforce The nationalist and revisionist rhetoric that has characterized its foreign policy In recent years, and suppose A direct challenge to Ukrainian sovereignty and the international order established after the Cold War. The international community, for the most part, has condemned the invasion and has imposed economic sanctions to Russiawhile the conflict continues without a solution in sight.
The words of the Russian president, insisting on the “unit“Of both peoples and in The belonging of Ukraine to Russiafurther complicate any perspective of negotiation and reinforce the perception that Moscow does not recognize the independence or territorial integrity of Ukraine.
In this context, the war continues its course, With a rhetorical and military escalation that keeps Europe and the world in suspense.
A war of more than 3 years
Putin’s statements occur Within the framework of the war that began on February 24, 2022when Russia launched Una large -scale invasion of Ukraine after weeks of tensions and concentration of troops on the border. The Kremlin justified the operation under the argument of defending Russian national security and protecting the Russian population of eastern Ukraine, using concepts such as “demilitarization” and “denazification“From the neighboring country.
From the beginning of the invasion, The conflict has caused tens of thousands of dead, millions of displaced people and the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. The background of Russian actions includes the refusal to accept the integration of Ukraine into NATO and the European Union, as well as the claim of historical, cultural and linguistic ties between both peoples.
Putin’s narrative about the unit between Russians and Ukrainians is not new. From 2014, After the annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of the War in Donbás, The Russian President has insisted thatMbos countries share roots and common destinationusing this argument to justify the intervention and revisionist politics of the Kremlin in the postsoviet space.
