- Title: TIMELINE: Putin's key remarks since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine
- Date: 5th May 2022
- Summary: President Vladimir Putin said on April 12 peace talks with Ukraine had hit a dead end, using his first public comments on the conflict in more than a week to vow that his troops would win and to goad the West for failing to bring Moscow to heel. Putin also dismissed Ukrainian and Western claims that Russia had committed war crimes as fakes. Since Russian troops withdrew from towns and villages around the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Ukrainian troops have been showing journalists corpses of what they say are civilians killed by Russian forces, destroyed houses and burnt-out cars. Reuters saw dead bodies in the town of Bucha but could not independently verify who was responsible for the killings. Ukraine says Russia is guilty of genocide and U.S. President Joe Biden has accused Putin of war crimes and called for a trial. VOSTOCHNY COSMODROME, AMUR REGION, RUSSIA (RECENT - APRIL 12, 2022) (RUSSIAN POOL) (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN PRESIDENT, VLADIMIR PUTIN, SAYING: "The special military operation is going as planned. Of course, I am watching carefully the discussions in our society and abroad (about it). We shall not hide anything from public, and we should cover this work, military work, objectively." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN PRESIDENT, VLADIMIR PUTIN, SAYING: "It is the same as when nobody remembers the hundreds of murdered civilians in Afghanistan, when hundreds and more people were killed by one hit at weddings. Silence. There was no such silence, when the provocations in Syria were staged. When the use of chemical weapons by (Syrian President Bashar) Assad's government was claimed to be happening. It later turned out it was faked. It's the same kind of fake in Bucha."
- 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: LVA008430627042022RP1
- 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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