Putin Claims ‘No Other Choice’ But to Invade Ukraine in First Extended Remarks Since Ordering Deadly Attack

Russian President Vladimir Putin defended his war against Ukraine by claiming he had no other option but to launch his military invasion of the country.

On Tuesday, Putin offered an extensive series of comments about the war while he was visiting the Vostochny spaceport alongside President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus. The New York Times’ translation of Putin’s remarks — his first extended comments since last month — and show that he told workers the invasion was a matter of Russian national security, and “there is no doubt” of the war’s success.

“What we are doing is helping people and saving people, on the one hand, and on the other hand, we are simply taking measures to ensure the security of Russia itself,” said Putin. “It is obvious that we had no other choice.”

Putin went on to claim that the goal of Russia’s military action in Ukraine was to aid the Donbas region, where pro-Russian separatists have been fighting for years to break off from Ukraine. Putin also spoke against the international effort to isolate Russia, claimed Ukraine has become an “anti-Russian bridgehead,” and once again pushed his false claims that the country is infested by Nazis.

“A collision with these forces was unavoidable for Russia — they were just choosing the time for an attack,” Putin said. “Subsequent events showed how deeply this had grown there. This neo-Nazism, unfortunately, became a fact of life for a rather large country close to us.”

It has been about 7 weeks since Putin ordered his military forces into Ukraine on a so-called “peacekeeping” mission, and since then, Russia has been accused of numerous war crimes and countless atrocities against civilians. Most recently, Ukrainian officials accused the Russians of killing at least 10,000 people in Mariupol, the slaughter and sexual abuse of citizens in Bucha, and the Russians face new accusations of using chemical weapons.

Watch above, via Oliver Carroll.