The Russian Federation, led by Vladimir Putin, denied Ukraine's right to exist 13 years before Euromaidan. This was reported by Georgiy Tikhiy, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, on the social network "X", according to UNN.
Details
Tikhiy reacted to the declassified transcript of conversations between Vladimir Putin and then-US President George W. Bush, in which the Russian leader openly opposed Ukraine's accession to NATO in the early 2000s and warned of an inevitable conflict.
Putin denied Ukraine's right to exist in 2001. 21 years before the full-scale invasion and 13 years before the Revolution of Dignity, which he often blames as the "root cause" of the war. The root cause has always been and remains the imperial tumor in his and other Russian heads
Additionally
This is not the first such statement by the Russian dictator. In April 2008, during a meeting of the Russia-NATO council, he stated that "Ukraine is not a state." This was reported by media in Ukraine, Russia, and a number of other countries.
You understand, George, that Ukraine is not even a state! What is Ukraine? Part of its territories are Eastern Europe, and a significant part was given from us!
The Kremlin leader already hinted then that Ukraine "would cease to exist" if it took a course towards joining NATO.
In addition, back in 2005, during a speech to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Putin stated that the collapse of the Soviet Union was the "greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century" for Russia.
For the Russian people, this was a real drama. Tens of millions of our citizens and compatriots found themselves outside the Russian Federation
He also repeatedly stated that "the Soviet Union is historical Russia, which simply had a different name." He said this in 2011 and 2022.
Recall
Earlier, UNN reported that the Russian dictator confirmed his intention to seize territories he considers "historical lands of Russia." This primarily refers to the south and east of Ukraine.
Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, stated that it is impossible to return Vladimir Putin's Russia to the civilized world, just as it was impossible to create democracy in Russia during the time of its first president, Boris Yeltsin. According to him, democracy in Russia is possible only if the Russian Federation disintegrates as a state.