- Title: TIMELINE: Putin's key remarks since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine
- Date: 5th May 2022
- Summary: VOSTOCHNY COSMODROME, AMUR REGION, RUSSIA (RECENT - APRIL 12, 2022) (RUSSIAN POOL) (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN PRESIDENT, VLADIMIR PUTIN, SAYING: “Now, regarding the talks. Look, we achieved some level of agreement in Istanbul, where the security guarantees to Ukraine - and the Ukrainian side is pursuing very strict security guarantees - will not apply to the territories of Crimea, Sevastopol, and Donbas. Then, as you could see, we followed our actions to create conditions for talks to continue. Instead, we faced provocation in Bucha. And, what is most important, the Ukrainian side moved away from its agreement in Istanbul. Now the requirement for security guarantees - is one thing, and the questions regarding the settlement of relations with respect to Crimea, Sevastopol, and Donbas are to be taken outside the framework of those agreements. So we are again back in a dead-end situation for all of us." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN PRESIDENT, VLADIMIR PUTIN, SAYING: "Such inconsistency in approaching key issues creates some difficulties in reaching the final agreement, acceptable for everyone in the course of negotiations. And until it happens, the military operation will continue until its full completion and achievement of the targets set at the start of the operation." Putin said on April 18 that Western countries had scored their own goal by imposing sanctions against Russia over Ukraine which he said had led to a "deterioration of the economy in the West". Speaking on the state of Russia's domestic economy, Putin said that inflation was stabilising and that retail demand in the country had normalised. Western countries have imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia's corporate and financial system since it sent troops into Ukraine in what it calls a "special military operation" NOVO-OGARYOVO, RUSSIA (RECENT - APRIL 18, 2022) (RUSSIAN POOL) (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN PRESIDENT, VLADIMIR PUTIN, SAYING: "But now we can confidently declare that such policy with respect to Russia has failed. The strategy of economic blitzkrieg proved unsuccessful. Sanctions scored the goal of its initiators. I mean rising inflation, unemployment, and worsening of the economic dynamic in the United States and Europe. Declining living standards for Europeans and the devaluation of their savings." President Vladimir Putin on April 21 ordered the Russian military to cancel plans to storm the Azovstal plant in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol and said he wanted it to continue to be hermetically blockaded instead. Putin gave the order to Sergei Shoigu, his defence minister, who had previously told Putin that more than 2,000 Ukrainian fighters were still holed up in the vast plant, which has a large underground component to it. Putin said his decision not to storm the Azovstal plant was motivated by the desire to safeguard the lives of Russian soldiers. He also called on the remaining Ukrainian fighters in Azovstal who had not yet surrendered. MOSCOW, RUSSIA (RECENT - APRIL 21, 2022) (RUSSIAN POOL) (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN PRESIDENT, VLADIMIR PUTIN, IN MEETING WITH DEFENCE MINISTER SERGEI SHOIGU, SAYING: "I consider the proposed storming of the industrial zone unnecessary. I order you to cancel it. (SHOIGU SAYING: "Roger that") This is a case where we must think - I mean we always must think, but in this case more so - about preserving the lives and health of our soldiers and officers. There is no need to climb into these catacombs and crawl underground through these industrial facilities. Block off this industrial area so that a fly can not pass through. (SHOIGU SAYING: "Roger that")."
- Embargoed: 19th May 2022 16:05
- Keywords: Bucha Easter Kyiv Putin Russia Ukraine conflict invasion war
- Location: VARIOUS, RUSSIA; VARIOUS, UKRAINE
- City: VARIOUS, RUSSIA; VARIOUS, UKRAINE
- Country: Russia
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Europe,Military Conflicts,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA00A430627042022RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THERE IS GRAPHIC CONTENT IN SHOTS 31, 32; THIS EDIT IS A TIMELINE OF PREVIOUS EVENTS AND CONTAINS NO NEW FOOTAGE.
Russian President Vladimir Putin authorised a military operation in Ukraine's Donbas region in the early hours of February 24, 2022, and told the Ukrainian military to lay down their weapons and go home.
Western countries have since imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia's corporate and financial system, sparking a fight between Russia and several European countries it supplies with natural gas.
Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation" to disarm its neighbour and protect its Russian-speaking population from "fascists". Kyiv and the West say the fascist allegation is a baseless pretext for an unprovoked act of aggression.
Thousands of military personnel on both sides have been reported killed since the fighting began - although exact figures are unknown.
It has also been reported that over 3,000 civilians have lost their lives in Ukraine.
According to the UN, more than 12 million people are thought to have been forced from their homes: 6.5 million have been displaced within Ukraine and a further 5.6 million people have fled to neighbouring countries - with Poland taking the vast majority. - Copyright Holder: POOL (CAN SELL)
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