Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday accused the West of having been «shamefully exploiting» Ukraine for years until it became «its colony» and now using its population as a «battering ram» in the fight against Russia.
«Over a period of years, the West has been exploiting its resources, promoting genocide and terror in the Donbas, and turning the country into a colony while using the Ukrainian people as cannon fodder, as a battering ram against Russia,» he has asserted.
Thus, he pointed out that the United States and its «satellites» in international relations have relied on the «force factor» and have destroyed the «architecture of strategic stability» that has been created for decades. Moreover, «they continue to expand aggressively across NATO’s geography in an attempt to expand,» he said.
«In an attempt to contain and block any alternative development models, they resort to illegal economic and trade sanctions and the use of technologies such as color revolutions to change governments and foment armed conflict,» he said.
In this regard, Putin said that «through outrageous provocations they increase the level of tension and confrontation in different regions of the world». That is why, he added, «today we can see the consequences in Ukraine».