Putin claims that he wants Ukraine to "acknowledge reality", not surrender

Tetyana Oliynyk - 20 June, 18:51

Vladimir Putin. Photo: Screenshot from Putin's speech at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has claimed yet again that Russians and Ukrainians are "one and the same people".

Source: Putin in a speech at the 28th St Petersburg International Economic Forum, as reported by Russian media

Details: The Kremlin leader asserted that Russia is not seeking Ukraine's surrender, but "insisting on an acknowledgement of the realities that have developed on the ground".

He also noted that Moscow's actions in Ukraine following the 2014 Revolution of Dignity – referred to as the "coup" by Russian propaganda – were aimed at "protecting the population spiritually connected with Russia".

Putin also reiterated his fantasy that Russians and Ukrainians are "one and the same people" and that "wherever a Russian soldier sets foot, that belongs to us".

The Russian leader also trotted out his well-worn claim that he could have met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2022, but that then-UK prime minister Boris Johnson had "talked Ukraine out of it".

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