{"id":31621,"date":"2026-10-01T19:11:58","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T16:11:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/?p=31621"},"modified":"2026-10-01T19:12:45","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T16:12:45","slug":"putin-valdai-2026-ukraine-war-nato","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/world\/putin-valdai-2026-ukraine-war-nato\/","title":{"rendered":"Putin stated that Russia \u00abdid not start the war\u00bb: key points from his speech at the Valdai Forum\u00ab"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>On 1 October, during a plenary session of the Valdai International Discussion Club, Russian President Vladimir Putin once again claimed that Russia allegedly <strong>\u00abdid not start the war\u00bb against Ukraine<\/strong>, but was forced to \u00abrespond to aggression\u00bb. He also blamed NATO, Ukrainian nationalism and the West for the outbreak of the war, and spoke of the risk of uncontrolled escalation and the use of weapons capable of causing catastrophic consequences.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ukrmedia-summary\"><strong>Briefly about the main points<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Putin claimed that Russia had allegedly \u00abnot started the war\u00bb, but had been forced to \u00abdefend itself\u00bb.<\/li>\n<li>He accused NATO of taking action in territories which he described as \u00abhistorical\u00bb for Russia.<\/li>\n<li>The President of the Russian Federation reiterated his claims about \u00abRussophobia\u00bb and Ukrainian nationalism.<\/li>\n<li>He also spoke of the risks posed by the use of weapons capable of causing a global catastrophe.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Putin has once again shifted the blame for the war onto Ukraine and the West<\/h2>\n<p>During the speech <strong>Putin<\/strong> He repeated one of the Russian authorities\u00ab key arguments: Moscow allegedly did not start the war, but \u00bbresponded\u00ab to the actions of Ukraine and the West. According to him, Russia was \u00bbdeliberately placed in a situation\u2019 where it was forced to defend itself with arms.<\/p>\n<p>He also claimed that NATO was supposedly not supposed to \u00abencroach on our historical territories\u00bb, whilst the Ukrainian authorities were not supposed to \u00abencourage nationalism\u00bb. Among other arguments, Putin once again spoke of \u00abRussophobia\u00bb and accused Ukraine of persecuting Russian speakers.<\/p>\n<p>The Kremlin has been promoting this version of the reasons for the war for many years. At the same time, international documents record a different sequence of events. The UN has defined Russia\u2019s actions in 2022 as aggression, and the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission explicitly states that <strong>On 24 February 2022, it was the Russian armed forces that launched a full-scale armed attack on Ukraine<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2>Ukraine was not a member of NATO<\/h2>\n<p>Putin devoted a separate section of his speech to NATO, linking the Alliance\u2019s expansion and its cooperation with Kyiv to decisions taken by Moscow.<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, at the time of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine <strong>was not a member of NATO and was not covered by Article 5<\/strong>. Ukraine\u2019s relations with the Alliance have developed as a partnership. From 2010 to 2014, Ukraine officially maintained its non-aligned status, and its course towards membership was resumed following Russia\u2019s annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of hostilities <a href=\"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/viyna\/rosiiskyi-nastup-na-donbasi-spovilnyvsia\/\">in the Donbas<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>NATO also points out that, until 2014, the Alliance had formal mechanisms for cooperation directly with Russia \u2014 in particular, the Russia\u2013NATO Council, established in 2002. Practical cooperation was suspended following the annexation of Crimea.<\/p>\n<h2>Putin stated that Russian troops \u00abdid not attack civilian targets first\u00bb<\/h2>\n<p>During his speech, the President of the Russian Federation also said that the Russian military had allegedly always adhered to humanitarian standards and \u00abhad never been the first to attack non-military targets\u00bb.<\/p>\n<p>This statement contradicts numerous documented cases <a href=\"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/viyna\/bpla-vluchyv-u-shkolu-na-vidradnomu-kyiv\/\">attacks on civilian infrastructure<\/a> Ukraine. On 1 October alone, a Russian drone struck a school in Kyiv. Reuters verified footage of the moment of the strike; over a hundred children were in the shelter at the time. On the same day, the South Bridge and other sites in the capital were attacked. Moscow traditionally claims that it targets only military objectives.<\/p>\n<p>The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission has previously documented thousands of civilian deaths and injuries since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, as well as widespread damage to residential buildings, hospitals, schools and critical infrastructure.<\/p>\n<h2>\u00abEscalation is never a one-sided affair\u00bb<\/h2>\n<p>A separate part of the speech dealt with global security. Putin stated that escalation is allegedly \u00abnever one-sided\u00bb, and that the point beyond which it will no longer be possible to change the situation could be reached very quickly.<\/p>\n<p>He also spoke of weapons capable of \u00abdestroying all life\u00bb and called for catastrophic scenarios to be avoided.<\/p>\n<p>During his speech, Putin predicted that there was a high likelihood of international conflicts continuing due to changes in the world order. At the same time, he expressed the view that the situation would improve over time as what he calls \u00abWestern hegemony\u00bb diminishes.<\/p>\n<h2>Putin has once again described the collapse of the USSR as a \u00abtragedy\u00bb<\/h2>\n<p>The President of the Russian Federation also returned to the subject of the collapse of the Soviet Union. According to him, this event was a tragedy for tens of millions of people who, following the redrawing of borders, found themselves outside Russia.<\/p>\n<p>Putin attributed responsibility for the subsequent deterioration in relations with the West, amongst other things, to the late Soviet leadership, accusing it of placing too much trust in Western states.<\/p>\n<p>He also reiterated the argument that Russia had been trying for many years to become part of the Western world, but that the West had allegedly sought to weaken or divide Russia itself. This is the Kremlin\u2019s political interpretation, not an established fact.<\/p>\n<h2>\u00abLet\u2019s Live in Harmony\u00bb and the New World Order<\/h2>\n<p>Despite his harsh rhetoric about war and escalation, Putin simultaneously called on Western countries to normalise relations, using the phrase \u00ablet\u2019s live in harmony\u00bb.<\/p>\n<p>He devoted a significant part of his speech to what he described as the world\u2019s transition to a new balance of power. According to him, the influence of Western states is gradually waning, whilst other centres of power are gaining greater political and economic clout.<\/p>\n<p>Putin also promoted Russia\u2019s concept of a \u00abGreat Eurasian Partnership\u00bb and spoke of the need to reform international institutions, including the UN. The Russian president described the current global situation as a turning point, at which technological, political and economic changes could radically transform the international system.<\/p>\n<h2>The main argument regarding Ukraine has remained unchanged<\/h2>\n<p>In the section devoted to Ukraine, the speech did not reveal any fundamental change in Russia\u2019s position. Putin once again denied Moscow\u2019s responsibility for starting the war and portrayed the invasion as a forced response to the actions of Ukraine, NATO and the West.<\/p>\n<p>However, this version contradicts the mainstream, internationally recognised chronology of the conflict. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, carried out a military intervention in eastern Ukraine, and in February 2022 launched a full-scale invasion. The UN General Assembly condemned Russian aggression by an overwhelming majority \u2014 resolution ES-11\/1 was supported by <strong>141st country<\/strong>, five voted against, and 35 abstained.<\/p>\n<p>Putin\u2019s statement today is therefore a continuation of the Kremlin\u2019s long-standing political line: Moscow blames Ukraine and Western countries for Russia\u2019s decision to launch large-scale military operations.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u041f\u0440\u0435\u0437\u0438\u0434\u0435\u043d\u0442 \u0420\u0424 \u0412\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0434\u0438\u043c\u0438\u0440 \u041f\u0443\u0442\u0456\u043d 1 \u0436\u043e\u0432\u0442\u043d\u044f \u043f\u0456\u0434 \u0447\u0430\u0441 \u043f\u043b\u0435\u043d\u0430\u0440\u043d\u043e\u0457 \u0441\u0435\u0441\u0456\u0457 \u043c\u0456\u0436\u043d\u0430\u0440\u043e\u0434\u043d\u043e\u0433\u043e \u0434\u0438\u0441\u043a\u0443\u0441\u0456\u0439\u043d\u043e\u0433\u043e \u043a\u043b\u0443\u0431\u0443 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