February 24, 2025, is approaching – the date, when Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine will reach three years. Let me use this opportunity to remind the reader of the reasons behind this.
First and foremost, the Ukrainian conflict is not a regional one, but an element of the geopolitical aggression of the West against Russia. In global dimension, it has resulted from the forceful opposition of the United States and its satellites to the objective process towards multipolar world order, which has taken shape through deepening integration and the expansion of BRICS and other global and regional formats with non-Western participation.
The West has deliberately ignored Russia’s security interests and demands, subverted arms control treaty systems, pursued a policy of consistent NATO enlargement eastwards and engaging Ukraine in a Euro-Atlantic camp hostile to our country.
So, in 2014 an armed coup d’état was staged in Kiev with the active support of the US and the EU, bringing radical nationalist forces fully supervised by the West to power. The task was to destroy a single historical economic and spiritual space shared by Ukraine and Russia.
Millions of residents of Ukraine, primarily in its eastern regions, opposed the coup. In Kherson, Zaporozhye, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Mariupol, peaceful protests against the Nazi Kiev authorities began to be suppressed. Terror was unleashed by the Kiev regime and nationalist groups.
In March 2014, based on the results of the referendum in Crimea (96,77% of the peninsula’s residents voted for reunification with Russia) an agreement was signed on the admission of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol to Russia and formation of new regions within the Russian Federation.
In May 2014, referendums on the status of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics were held, where an overwhelming majority of residents voted for independence and sovereignty. What did the Kiev regime do in this situation? It completely ignored the will of the people and launched a full-scale war against the newly independent states. The residents of Donbass took up arms to defend their lives, rights, and legitimate interests.
Instead of reconciliation or integration, as the Kiev authorities often claimed, Donbass was subjected to bombardment, terror attacks, assassinations, and a brutal blockade from 2014 to 2022. By the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, the Minsk peace process initiated in 2014 had been completely abandoned – buried by Kiev and its Western patrons.
Donbass faced the threat of another massive strike. A large Ukrainian Armed Forces grouping was preparing a new offensive on Luhansk and Donetsk, which would have led to ethnic cleansing and significant human casualties.
On February 21, 2022, Russia recognized the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics and signed treaties of friendship, cooperation, and mutual assistance with them. On September 30, 2022, the President of Russia, along with the leaders of the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, signed international agreement on the issue of joining the Russian Federation upon the results of the referenda held in September 2022.
At the same time, Russia called on Kiev to withdraw its troops from Donbass. This proposal was practically immediately rejected and ignored.
On February 24, 2022, Russia was forced to announce the start of a special military operation. Addressing the citizens of Russia, the residents of the Donetsk and Luhansk Republics, and Ukrainian society, the President of the Russian Federation outlined the operation’s goals: to protect the people of Donbass, restore peace, achieve the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, and thereby eliminate threats to Russia while restoring the balance of security in Europe.
Russia continued to prioritize achieving these objectives through political and diplomatic means as well. I should remind you that, at the very first stage of the special military operation, our country engaged in negotiations with representatives of the Kiev regime. These talks were held in Belarus and in Turkey. However, the response from Kiev was a refusal, and the negotiations were halted at their final stage at Ukraine’s initiative.
As we now know, this decision was made under the direction of Western handlers, including former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who during his visit to Kiev openly stated: no agreements, we must defeat Russia on the battlefield and achieve its strategic defeat.
As to the Minsk package of measures, approved by UNSC Resolution 2202 (2015), it gave a chance to restore the territorial integrity of Ukraine (without Crimea), however, this option was lost due to the deliberate sabotage by Kiev and the Western “guarantors”, namely Germany and France.
Today, Kiev regime is carrying out its military operation against Russia entirely at the expense of Western financial and military support. The overall assistance amounted to more than US$ 350 billion, and supplies of arms and military equipment to Ukraine are growing despite the fact that many realise the futility of financial injections into Ukraine and its inability to win on the battlefield. In November 2024, Kiev was given permission to use Western long-range weapons to strike Russia.
Meanwhile, Russia has never given up on a political and diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian crisis, as it has repeatedly stated. Speaking at the Russian Foreign Ministry on 14 June, 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin put forward concrete proposals to move towards a final settlement of the conflict. Their key points include withdrawal of Ukrainian armed formations from the new Russian regions, i.e., the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye, and Kherson; recognition of the new territorial realities; Kiev’s refusal to join NATO; lifting of all Western sanctions against Russia; and guarantees of full rights for Russian-speaking citizens of Ukraine. In essence, what is being proposed is not a truce or ceasefire, as the West might prefer, to allow the Kiev regime to recover, rearm, and prepare for a new offensive, nor a freeze on the conflict, but a definitive end thereto. The negotiation process should culminate with peace in Europe, a new system of regional security, and non-confrontational relations between Russia and NATO.
However, both Kiev and the West keep thinking in terms of war. The Russian proposal for a political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict was met with an invasion of the Kursk region by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They act like the most brutal and despicable terrorists, shooting civilians, plundering Russian villages, attacking journalists, and threatening nuclear facilities.
The Kiev regime carries out terrorist attacks against civilian and social facilities in Russia, resulting in deaths and injuries. The failure on the part of Western countries and international organizations to condemn these unlawful actions contributes to their further expansion, and Ukrainian officials refer to the terrorist attacks aimed at killing unarmed civilians as a “legitimate, logical and effective step.”
Russia highly appreciates the efforts of the Global South to find a non-military solution to the conflict. China, Brazil and a number of African states have already demonstrated a deep understanding of the root causes of the Ukrainian conflict, and the need to take Russia’s interest in the account.
On the contrary, Kiev and the Western countries continue to promote Zelensky’s so-called “peace formula,” which has nothing to do with peace, by organizing Bürgenstock-format events. The “formula” is essentially a set of unrealizable demands to achieve Russia’s capitulation. This means the withdrawal of the Russian troops from the territory of Donbass, Crimea, and the Zaporozhye and Kherson Oblasts, the payment of reparations, and confession of guilt in international tribunals. By imposing their approaches, Ukraine and its overseas masters are trying to minimize the importance of the peace proposals of other countries and monopolize the very right to put forward them. The ultimate goal of the “Bürgenstock” meetings is to involve the Global South in an anti-Russian coalition. It is planned to invite Russia to this event only for the purpose of issuing a collective ultimatum to us, allegedly on behalf of the world majority.
The reader may ask, what is next? Donald Trump has been inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States.
Let me quote here President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, who said at a briefing with the permanent members of the Security Council of the Russian Federation on 20 January 2024 the following:
“We are also open to dialogue with the new US Administration concerning the Ukrainian conflict. The primary focus here should be addressing the root causes of the crisis, which we have discussed extensively. Concerning the resolution of the situation itself, I would like to reiterate that its objective should not be a temporary ceasefire or a pause to regroup forces and rearm for the eventual continuation of the conflict, but rather a lasting peace founded on respect for the legitimate interests of all individuals and peoples residing in this region. Nonetheless, we will steadfastly advocate for the interests of Russia and the Russian people. This, in essence, is the purpose and meaning of the special military operation.”
The author of the article is H.E. Nikolay Kudashev, the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Singapore.
