Kyiv refused Russian request to withdraw troops from Donbas before war started: Putin

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russia's president accused Ukraine on Wednesday of refusing Moscow's requests for it to withdraw its troops from the eastern Donbas region.

"I want to say this for the first time: At the very beginning of the operation in Donbas, the Kyiv authorities, through various channels, in order to avoid senseless bloodshed, were asked not to engage in hostilities, but simply to withdraw their troops from Donbas," said Vladimir Putin at a meeting of government officials in Moscow.

"They refused. Well, that's their decision. The understanding of what is happening in a real situation, on the ground, will come inevitably," he added.

Putin again denied that Moscow intends to occupy Ukraine, and that it instead aims to protect residents of the breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Donbas, as well as the demilitarization and "denazification" of the country.

"I'd like to note that Ukraine, encouraged by the United States and a number of Western countries, purposefully prepared for a violent scenario, a bloodbath and ethnic cleansing in Donbas. A massive offensive on Donbas and then on Crimea was only a matter of time. And our armed forces thwarted these plans," he asserted.

Putin also accused the West of ignoring what was happening in Donbas, where he said civilians, including children and the elderly, suffered the atrocities of war every day.

He said the international sanctions on Moscow in the wake of the war would have been imposed anyway as they were part of a policy of containment against Russia.

Western countries forgot about the principles of basic human rights, he said, adding that they were refusing medical service to Russians, while also denying freedom of speech by blocking Russian media outlets, and the sanctity of private property by seizing public funds belonging to Russia.

Putin stressed that Russia would cope with these difficulties, but that the current situation would mark the beginning of the end to Western dominance.

The Russia-Ukraine war, which started on Feb. 24, has drawn international condemnation, led to financial restrictions on Moscow and spurred an exodus of global firms from Russia.

At least 726 civilians have been killed so far in Ukraine, and 1,174 have been injured, according to UN estimates. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warns the true casualty tolls are likely "considerably higher," particularly in territories that remain under Ukrainian government control.

More than 3 million refugees have fled to neighboring countries, according to the global body.