Putin dismisses claims about Russia's "imperial aspirations" as nonsensical.
Before launching its war against Ukraine in February 2022, Russia denied any intention of doing so. The West claimed that Russia used Ukraine to weaken or obliterate its own country. The Kremlin rejected the idea of wanting to restore its lost empire, but five Ukrainian regions have been annexed by Russia. Several Russian government officials, among them Putin, claimed that these regions were once a part of the Russian and Soviet empires.
