Putin claims Ukraine will inevitably lose its western lands, citing internal divisions and historical claims amid ongoing conflict.
Russian ruler Vladimir Putin has told naval personnel that Ukraine will lose its western territories sooner or later, and that everyone in Ukraine has 'fallen out with each other,' reports Ukraine's Pravda.
Mr. Putin repeated his assertion that Russia had been 'forced' to launch its so-called special military operation, denying aggression despite the ongoing war. He claimed left-bank Ukraine had always been part of Russia.
He alleged that Joseph Stalin had given Ukraine's western lands 'within the framework of a single state,' and predicted they would eventually return to Poland, Hungary, and Romania.
He described Russia as the sole guarantor of Ukraine's territorial integrity, despite its invasion and destruction of Ukrainian cities. He dismissed Ukraine's rejection of Russia as 'nonsense and rubbish.'
President Putin also claimed Lenin had given Donbas to Ukraine and said Russia must restore the 'normal historical course.' He told his audience the war would end with 'the enemy defeated and Russia victorious.'
He portrayed Ukraine as internally divided, saying its leaders were 'like spiders in a jar,' fighting over stolen money, fleeing abroad and returning, and lacking unity.
