President explained why Russia was not ready to take Donbass in 2014, according to TELMENEWS.RU news agency
Russian leader in the program “Moscow. Kremlin. Putin” answered the question that worries many, why the special operation did not start after the Crimean spring and what assets the country has gained since then.
First, in the Crimea everything happened “from the wheels”, and in the Donbass Russia started from the fact that all problems can be solved by peaceful means.
“But, in the end, we were led by the nose. None of our so-called partners were going to solve it peacefully, they just bloated Ukraine with weapons and prepared it for hostilities. And she undertook two large-scale military operations using heavy equipment, artillery and aviation,” Vladimir Putin said.
As for the readiness and timeliness of the SVO, in such cases there is no subjunctive mood, the President stressed. In 2014, Russia did not have a record grain harvest, import substitution in critical areas. Moreover, for 8 years, the financial system has strengthened – “nothing has collapsed”.
“And finally, yes, we have a lot to do to develop the ground forces, but we did not have hypersonic weapons at the time. And now there are. It is very difficult to say what would have happened in 2014,” Putin said.