A couple of weeks ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin officially announced the start of a "special military operation" against Ukraine, saying that the operation in Ukraine is not the beginning of a war, but an attempt to prevent a world war.
But many countries around the world, including Europe and the United States, immediately condemned Russia's move as a war against Ukraine and began to redouble their diplomatic and economic pressure on Russia. The West imposed fresh sanctions on Russia, aimed at cutting off its largest banks and preventing the country from importing critical technology.
Since the beginning of the conflict, the Russian and Ukrainian delegations have met several times for talks to compromise.
To know more about the issue we reached out to the deputy head of the Sputnik news website and radio, Tatiana Kukhareva.
Here is the full text of the interview:
Why did recent tensions lead to confrontation in Ukraine? What could be done to avoid war and settle the problems via talks?
An eight-year-long war between Kyiv and the Donetsk and Luhansk republics can hardly be called tensions, and frankly, it shouldn't be. For eight years, Moscow was trying to ‘dialogue’ with Kyiv, which was killing civilians in the DPR and LPR with no mercy or regret, bombing schools, hospitals and residential areas; all the while calling it an "anti-terror operation". Russia's military operation could have been avoided, should Kyiv have abided by the Minsk agreements and have stopped the shelling, which it never did.
Nowadays Russia is accused of violating Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. What is Russia’s stance on this issue? And what is Russia’s plan for Ukraine?
The demilitarisation and denazification of a state that engaged in nothing short of the genocide of its own people, whose only crime was to exercise an essential right of any people to self-determination, back in 2014. When it comes to the accusations of violating Ukraine's sovereignty - this is questionable, to say the least. Russia's only aim here is demilitarisation; it's not looking to occupy, dissect or otherwise change Ukraine. However, the right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law. Hence Moscow has requested that the right of the DPR and LPR to secede from Kyiv be respected, and it has nothing to do with Ukraine's territorial integrity or sovereignty whatsoever. The ongoing operation is aimed at destroying the Nazi elements that sprung to power during the violent coup in Kyiv back in 2014 and demilitarisation in order to finally ensure the end to an 8-year-long massacre in the Donbas.
After about 20 days since the beginning of Moscow’s operation in Ukraine, Many Western analysts say that Russia has not been able to advance its goals in Ukraine rapidly, as expected from Russia’s military power. Do you think so? Why?
Russia is exactly where it needs to be at the moment. From the beginning of the operation, the Russian Ministry of Defence has been adamant about the fact that its first priority is the safety of the civilian population of Ukraine. It is extremely easy to bomb cities into the ground and claim control: we've seen how the US army does exactly that all over the Middle East. However, such scenarios are completely unacceptable for Moscow. The only targets of this operation are the Nazi formations and their leadership - and the Russian troops have been extremely successful at terminating them while doing their absolute best to preserve the infrastructure and ensure the civilians are not harmed.
Many believe that if Russia succeeds in the current Ukraine arena in the post-war period, we will see changes in the current world order based on US hegemony. What is your opinion on this?
We will and it's long overdue. The world is multipolar and yet the US is trying desperately to hold on to the illusion of its own exceptionalism. This is why the Biden administration is now blaming its own economic shortcomings and overwhelming levels of inflation on Russia and has declared a full on economic war against Moscow - all the while trying to present it as a world-wide war. However, the world is not limited to the US and Western Europe, and this tough realization is inevitable this time around.
There have been three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s operation. Is there any hope to stop the bloodshed via talks?
Of course, there is. Kiev simply needs to agree to Moscow's demands: they are very simple and long overdue.
Russia's Achilles heel is its economy. The West has imposed large-scale sanctions against Russia. Can Russia withstand economic pressures? What is the economic situation in Russia, and what effects have the sanctions had on the country’s economy?
The beauty of the world we live in is in the fact that it's not limited to the West. There is also the East, and if you look at the list of the world economies - there are quite a few eastern economies at the top of that list. But regardless of that, what we've learned from the 2014 sanctions is that they created an enormous amount of opportunities for Russian businesses and allowed us to reshape our economy at the time - and this time around, it is no different. Russia not only can and will withstand these pressures but will also make the best of them and come out stronger on the other end.
What about the public opinion of the Russian people with respect to the ongoing operation in Ukraine?
As opposed to the rest of the world - the Russian people have been aware of the genocide of the people of Donbas. If anything - the majority of the population of Russia were baffled that nothing was done to protect the Russian-speaking population of Ukraine sooner.
The United States and its allies are making some efforts to exclude Russia from the energy market and even from the UN Security Council. Is this possible?
While the latter is simply illegal at this point, as Russia is a permanent member of the UNSC - the former is an oxymoron. Russia is the third largest oil producer as well as the largest oil exporter. With all due respect, the US cannot cover the void that would be left on the market should Russia magically disappear from it. It's quite similar to Europe and Russian gas. Talking the talk is one thing - especially in the spring - it all comes down to walking the walk when summer ends and Europeans need something to warm their homes with.
Some analysts believe that the Ukraine war is a quagmire that the Americans cleverly prepared for Russia, which over the long term will pave the way for the disintegration of the Russian Federation, like what happened to the USSR. What is your opinion on this?
The US was undeniably very present in Ukraine; it supported the completely illegal coup d'etat and the Nazi formations that made it happen; it was pumping the country full of money and weapons. However, the mere thought that Russia could be manipulated by the very crude American dealings in Kyiv is somewhat insulting. Modern Russia is far from the USSR, and it is only Americans, who lack knowledge of history, who are able to concoct such weird conspiracy theories.
Interview by Payman Yazdani