Decades of aggression by the West is a tragedy for Ukraine: Putin

Moscow, Jul 8: Vladimir Putin on Thursday accused the West of decades of aggression toward Moscow and warned that if it wanted to attempt to beat Russia on the battlefield it was welcome to try, but this would bring tragedy for Ukraine.

 

 

 

His remarks came as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov prepared for a closed-door foreign minister's meeting at a G20 gathering in Indonesia on Friday which will be the first time Putin's top diplomat comes face-to-face with the most vocal opponents of the invasion of Ukraine in February.

 

 

  

In Ukraine, the regional governor of the northeastern city of Kharkiv said late on Thursday that three people had been killed and another five wounded after Russian forces shelled the city. Russian forces also shelled other potential conquests in eastern Ukraine ahead of an expected new offensive. "We have heard many times that the West wants to fight us to the last Ukrainian. This is a tragedy for the Ukrainian people, but it seems that everything is heading towards this," Putin said in televised remarks to parliamentary leaders. The West had failed in its attempt to contain Russia, and its sanctions on Moscow had caused difficulties but "not on the scale intended," Putin added. Russia did not reject peace talks, but the further the conflict went, the harder it would be to reach an agreement, he said. Earlier, Kyiv lost one of its main international supporters after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would step down. Ukraine said it expected Britain's support to continue and thanked Johnson for defending Ukraine's interests, while Moscow did not conceal its delight at the political demise of a leader whom it has long criticized for arming Kyiv so energetically. In a phone call, Johnson told Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky "You're a hero, everybody loves you," a spokesman for Johnson said. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba described the British Prime Minister as a "true friend of Ukraine" for being among the first world leaders to unequivocally condemn the invasion and also "to help Ukraine defend itself and ultimately win this war in the future."

 

Also Read: Russia begins shelling of Kharkiv  

 

Johnson's resignation comes at a time of domestic turmoil in some other European countries that support Kyiv and doubts about their staying power for what has become a protracted conflict. The day began with Ukraine's defiant flag-raising ceremony on its recaptured Snake Island in the Black Sea, located about 140 km (90 miles) south of the Ukrainian port of Odesa.