Russia wanted to peacefully resolve the issue of Donbass

Russia planned to resolve the Donbas issue peacefully, but Western countries were preparing Ukraine for hostilities. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin in an interview on the Russia 1 TV channel.

Answering a journalist’s question about whether it was not worth launching a military special operation in Ukraine in 2014, Putin said that Russia proceeded from the fact that everything would be resolved by peaceful means, reports on Sunday, March 19, RIA News. However, the Russian leader stressed, none of “our so-called partners” sought a peaceful settlement. Ukraine was pumped up with weapons and prepared for hostilities, the president said.

“She undertook two large-scale military operations using heavy equipment, artillery, and aviation,” Putin stressed.

Then events took place in the Crimea. Russia could not refuse to support and protect the inhabitants of the peninsula.

“Precisely because they were already run over there, as the Nazis say in Ukraine itself, it was our sacred duty to protect the Crimeans,” Putin said.

While addressing the Federal Assembly Putin saidthat Donbass has been waiting since 2014 for the Russian Federation to come to the rescue. And Russia, in turn, did everything possible to solve the problem of the region by peaceful means. According to the president, Moscow “patiently negotiated a peaceful way out of this most difficult conflict,” but “an entirely different scenario was being prepared behind our backs.”