Vladimir Putin says his bungled invasion of Ukraine has, in fact, made Russia “much stronger” – and has claimed without evidence that his army is the strongest in the world
Russian despot Vladimir Putin has claimed he wants a “lasting peace” with Ukraine and that he is ready to meet incoming US President Donald Trump.
Putin made the claim during a four-hour long Q&A at the Kremlin on Thursday. The tyrant launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 leading to tens of thousands of deaths on both sides and widespread destruction in the country.
He added he would be ready to meet Trump who claimed in the race for the White House suggested he could end the war within 24 hours. The Republican has not elaborated on how he aims to achieve this, although critics believe it would entail allowing Putin to retain control of the eastern regions of Ukraine that he illegally annexed.
According to The Sun, Putin said he and Trump would “have things to discuss,” although he stressed he had not contracted the President-elect. The despot added: “Politics is the art of compromise. We have always said that we are ready for both talks and compromise.”
Putin then bragged he believed Ukrainians would want to give up the fight. He continued: “Soon, those Ukrainians who want to fight will run out, in my opinion, soon there will be no one left who wants to fight.
We are ready, but the other side needs to be ready for both negotiations and compromises.” The Russian president said he believed a ceasefire with Ukraine would allow Kyiv to “strengthen its troops” and give the country a window to bring in reinforcements and ammunition.
Putin’s comments are a change of tune from his previous hard line that he would not enter into any negotiations and that annexed regions of Ukraine were parts of Russia. He added any peace talks should be based on the “situation on the ground,” meaning the areas currently under Russian control.
To bolster his bogus claims over the territories, Putin ordered fraudulent elections in Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia in 2022 with the result ending in them being formally recognised by the Kremlin as parts of Russia. The referendums are viewed as baseless by many countries in the West, including the UK.
Putin also claimed in the Q&A that he should have invaded Ukraine earlier and that Russia and that the country should have been “prepared for it in advance and more thoroughly.” The invasion has proved to be a humiliation for the Russian despot after Ukraine managed to repel an attack on Kyiv and pushed Kremlin-backed troops to the east of the country.
Putin even sensationally claimed: “Russia has become much stronger over the past two or three years because it has become a truly sovereign country. We are standing firm in terms of economy, we are strengthening our defence potential and our military capability now is the strongest in the world.”
