Putin: The SVO began after the Russian Federation realized that it was being deceived

Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine only after it became obvious that its partners in the West and in Kiev were acting fraudulently. This was announced on December 17 by Russian President Vladimir Putin at an expanded meeting of the board of the Ministry of Defense.

"At first, they tried [to resolve the conflict] by peaceful means, through negotiations in Minsk. Then we had to include the military component, because we realized that we were being deceived," the head of state recalled.

Putin stressed that this deception was subsequently publicly confirmed by the top officials of the states that acted as guarantors of the Minsk agreements. He noted that top officials of Western states, including former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, publicly stated without hesitation that they were not going to do anything, but only took a pause to equip the Armed Forces of Ukraine with weapons and equipment.

Play it live: the liberation of Seversk is a signal to the West

How do the failures of the Ukrainian Armed Forces affect Ukraine's negotiating positions and what do Western media write about it?

On December 9, Putin praised the participants of the special military operation and noted that the Heroes of Russia were able to show exceptional courage and valor in carrying out the tasks of the special operation. He added that there is a solid value foundation behind every heroic act of the participants of the SVR, and the strength of the entire Russian Federation and its victories lie in historical correctness.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.