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Putin claims that war against Ukraine complies with international law


Ukrayinska Pravda
KATERYNA TYSHCHENKO

FRIDAY, 17 JUNE 2022

Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that the legal side of Russia's war against Ukraine, which he calls a "special operation", fully complies with international law.

Source: Putin in a speech at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum; reports by RBC; video from TASS and RIA Novosti

Details: According to Putin, the legal side of the "special operation" in Ukraine fully complies with international law. When a territory is separated from a state, it is not necessary to ask permission from the central authorities, the Russian president said, recalling the ruling of the UN International Court of Justice on Kosovo.

Direct quote: "In this case the republics of Donbas did not have to ask permission from the Kyiv authorities. They declared their independence. In this regard, did we have the right to recognise them or not? Of course we did. We did that. We signed a mutual assistance agreement with them, and in accordance with this agreement, as well as with Article 151 of the UN Charter, we provide them with military assistance. Did we have the right? We did, in full compliance with the UN Charter. Whether people like it or not. We did it ourselves and set a precedent. Therefore, our actions are absolutely legitimate."

More details: He also said that "military action is always a tragedy". However, the Russian president once again called the war a "necessary measure".

Direct quote: "Whatever pro-Western governments there were in Ukraine, we worked normally with all of them. There was Yushchenko, Tymoshenko - they are totally pro-Western. The so-called civilisational choice... What the hell is a civilisational choice? They stole money from the Ukrainian people and stashed it in banks, and they want to protect it."

 

For reference: Since 2014, Russia has illegally annexed Ukrainian Crimea, as well as conducting hybrid aggression and fighting in Donbas through its proxies. At the same time, Russia did not admit to being a party to the conflict and insisted that there were no Russian military personnel in Donbas.

On 24 February 2022, Russia launched an open full-scale invasion of Ukraine on the pretext of "protecting Donbas" and "denazifying" and "demilitarising Ukraine". Russia is destroying residential buildings and infrastructure facilities throughout Ukraine, as well as killing civilians. Furthermore, the Russian invaders have occupied parts of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv oblasts.

Previously: On 16 June, almost 4 months after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed that Russia did not invade Ukraine.

Putin again justifies the war with Ukraine and insists he will "complete all objectives"



Ukrayinska Pravda
MAZURENKO ALYONA – FRIDAY, 17 JUNE 2022,

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that "all the objectives" of the war with Ukraine will be "completed".

Source: Putin at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Meduza

Quote: "All the objectives of the special military operation will undoubtedly be completed…

The modern world is going through a period of fundamental changes. International institutions are breaking down and malfunctioning, security guarantees are losing their value.

The West fundamentally refused to fulfil its earlier obligations. It was absolutely impossible to agree on any new obligations.

In the current situation, given the ever increasing risks and threats. Russia was compelled to conduct a ‘special military operation’. It was a tough but necessary decision."

Details: It’s not the first time that Putin has justified the attack on Ukraine with his desire to "defend the security" of Russia and he claims that he had the right to do it.

He insists that his decision is "aimed at protecting the citizens of the Russian Federation and residents of the republics of Donbas who have been enduring the genocide of the Kyiv regime and neo-Nazis for 8 years, with the approval of the West".

Putin assured his fellow citizens and the Taliban, who attended the forum, that the West allegedly wanted to implement an "anti-Russia" scenario in Ukraine and has been conducting active militarisation of Ukrainian territory.

The President of Russia, where almost 15% of the population lives below the poverty line, claimed that the USA and the West couldn’t care less about the economic development and the well-being of people in Ukraine: "However they’ve always been ready to spend any amount of money to create a NATO bridgehead in the East of Ukraine, and they still keep spending".

Putin considers entire Soviet Union to be historical Russian territory



Ukrayinska Pravda
KATERYNA TYSHCHENKO – FRIDAY, 17 JUNE 2022, 20:00

Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that the Soviet Union is historical Russian territory.

Source: Putin at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum; video from the forum posted by RIA Novosti

Quote: "What is the Soviet Union? It’s historical Russia. As it happens, it ceased to exist. And I want to emphasise that in recent history we have always treated the processes of sovereignisation that have occurred in the post-Soviet area with respect."

Details: Putin claimed that Russia has "brotherly" relations with Kazakhstan and is interested in strengthening those relations. "Who would ever think of spoiling relations with Kazakhstan?" he asked.

He also made it clear that there would have been no Russian aggression in Ukraine and no occupation of Crimea if there had been "good relations" and "partnership" between Ukraine and Russia.

Quote: "It would have been the same with Ukraine, absolutely. If we had had good allied relations, or at least a partnership between us, it would never have occurred to anybody…

And, by the way, there would have been no Crimea problem. Because if the rights of the people who live there, the Russian-speaking population, had been respected, if the Russian language and culture had been treated with respect, it would never have occurred to anybody to start all this."

More details: The president of the aggressor country also claimed that Ukraine "entered" the Russian empire with just three oblasts.

"Ukraine entered the Russian empire with three territories, in effect – Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast, Zhytomyr, and Chernihiv, that’s all," he said.

Background: The USSR comprised the present-day territories of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Moldova, Latvia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Armenia, Turkmenistan and Estonia.