Vladimir Putin reportedly says Russia’s military aim in Ukraine ‘noble’, will be met

Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that his country’s military objectives in Ukraine are “noble” and will be met, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

Putin stated Tuesday at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in eastern Russia, where he was meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, that the “special operation” in Ukraine was necessary because Russia “had no other choice.”

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Putin stated that the “special military operation” aims to assist the people of Donbas while also “takes measures to ensure the security of Russia itself.”

“Obviously, we had no other choice, that’s right. And there is no doubt that the goals [of the special operation] will be achieved,” Putin stated on Tuesday.

“The main goal is to help people in Donbas, the people of Donbas, which we recognized, were forced to do this because the Kyiv authorities, pushed by the West, refused to comply with the Minsk agreements aimed at a peaceful solution to the problems of Donbas,” Putin added.

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Putin has characterised Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “special mission” to defend Russian speakers from extermination by “neo-Nazis.”

Putin officially recognised the two self-proclaimed “people’s republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk in the Donbas region as independent three days before invading Ukraine.

Ukrainian and Western diplomats have reported seeing Russian forces relocate to Donbas in recent days, following severe defeats for Moscow in its effort to seize Kyiv.

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A senior US defence official claims that Russia is seeking to resupply and reinforce its forces in eastern Ukraine, as demonstrated by a convoy of trucks approaching the city of Izyum from the north.

According to Ukraine’s prosecutor general, 5,800 cases of alleged Russian war crimes are being investigated.