BREAKING: Putin explains why Russia invaded Ukraine

“No one, but us, recognizes Crimea as Russia, and they [Ukraine] are conducting military operations in the Donbass.” President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with women flight crews of Russian airlines.

The people started showing resistance and were persecuted for that. The Kiev authorities began to conduct military operations on those territories, Putin said.

There were “two punitive operations” conducted, during which the squares of Donetsk were shelled directly, but both of those campaigns failed, he said.

Afterwards, the Minsk Accords were signed, which showed a way to a peaceful resolution of the conflict, Putin said.

According to him, Russia was trying to make the process develop in this direction, in order to restore the territorial integrity of Ukraine and protect the interests of the people, who demanded most simple things:

the right to speak their native Russian language

and live within their own culture.

However, the Ukrainian authorities announced the blockade of these territories in response, disconnected them from the banking system, food supplies, pensions and benefits, Putin said.

According to him, between 13,000 and 14,000 people were killed in the Donbas during the years of the conflict, while the civilized West preferred not to notice that.

In addition, the Kiev authorities started declaring bluntly that they were not going to comply with the Minsk agreements. On top of that, they were accusing Russia of unwillingness to implement the Minsk agreements. That was “a theater of the absurd,” Putin said.

Then they started talking about Ukraine’s possible membership at NATO, he continued. In this case, other members of the alliance will have to support the country, which could spark a war between Russia and all of NATO.