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Topics: Vladimir Putin, UK News, World News, Russia, Ukraine
Emily Brown
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the West of trying to 'cancel' Russia as the country continues its invasion of Ukraine.
Fighting has entered its 21st day in Ukraine, with Putin still refusing to call off his 'Special Military Operation' in spite of the numerous sanctions which have been brought against his country.
Western leaders have repeatedly condemned Putin for his decision to send troops across the border, and as governments continue to cut ties and place limits on the country, the president has likened the situation to cancel culture.
He made the comment after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed US Congress today, March 16, and claimed the West had 'geopolitical aims which don't include a strong independent Russia.'
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Putin accused the West of trying to 'cancel' Russia and create an 'anti-Russia', and claimed it would not succeed in what he described as an attempted to achieve global dominance. He also said the West 'does not understand Russia' if the West thinks his country will step back, and alleged he had 'no other option for the security of Russia' than to begin the 'special military operation' on February 24.
He further claimed Western leaders do not care about the Ukrainian people, and is forcing Ukraine to 'continue the bloodshed' by supplying it with weaponry to fight back against Russia's troops.
'The West doesn't even bother to hide the fact that its aim is to damage the entire Russian economy, every Russian,' Putin said.
The president's comments came after Zelenskyy pleaded with Congress in a virtual address for the the US to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine, urging his audience to 'Remember September the 11th, a terrible day in 2001 when evil tried to turn your cities, independent territories on battlefields, when innocent people were attacked from air.'
'Yes, just like no one else expected it, you could not stop it,' he continued, adding: 'Our country experiences the same thing every day, right now at this moment, every night for three weeks now various Ukrainian cities - Mariupol and Kharkiv - Russia has turned the Ukrainian skies into a source of death for thousands of people."
If the no-fly zone was 'too much to ask', Zelenskyy offered an alternative to the US of providing defense systems.
Putin has said Russia is ready to discuss Ukraine's neutral status in a bid to end hostilities, but stressed Russia would still achieve the goals of its military operation.
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