Putin voices concern over Western weapons deliveries, particularly criticizing Germany.
Looking at Germany, Putin expressed that the presence of "German tanks on Ukrainian soil" due to the legacy of World War II has already caused a "moral and ethical shock in Russia." If German leaders were to say that "there will be more rockets hitting targets on Russian territory," this would definitely destroy German-Russian relations, he added.
In response to a Russian offensive in the northeastern region of Kharkiv, some Western countries have recently allowed Ukraine to use weapons provided by them against targets in the Russian border area. Putin had already warned at the end of May that if the West gave the go-ahead for the use of their weapons against Russian targets, they would face serious consequences.
Putin reaffirmed on Wednesday that "Russia did not start the war in Ukraine." Instead, he blamed the pro-Western revolution in Ukraine in 2014, which led to the Russian annexation of Crimea and fighting between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists in the eastern part of the country. "EVERYONE THINKS that Russia started the war in Ukraine," Putin remarked. "However, I'd like to emphasize that no one in the West, in Europe, wants to remember how this tragedy began."
