Moscow April 13 2022: The Russian president said talks with Ukraine had derailed because the Ukrainian side had made “fake claims” about war crimes and extra demands for security guarantees.
“We have again returned to a dead-end situation for us,” he said.
He added that Russia would continue its operation to defend the Russian speakers of eastern Ukraine.
However, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters that though negotiations were hard, they were continuing.
Putin’s remarks are his first in public since Russian troops withdrew from northern areas of Ukraine around the capital Kyiv.
