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Putin says Russia has gained, not lost, from intervening in Ukraine
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It had actually gained by setting a new sovereign course that would restore its global clout, according to Putin.
President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday (Sep 7) that Russia had not lost anything in a global confrontation with the United States over the conflict in Ukraine. According to him, it had actually gained by setting a new sovereign course that would restore its global clout.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Putin calls a "special military operation", is considered to be a turning point in history when Russia finally threw off the humiliations which accompanied the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union.
In an attempt to underscore Russia's tilt towards Asia, Putin, speaking to the Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian Pacific city of Vladivostok, said that the West was failing while Asia was the future.
In his main speech, Putin hardly mentioned Ukraine beyond a reference to grain exports. But when asked by a moderator if anything had been lost from the conflict, Putin said Russia had gained and would emerge renewed and purged of hindrances.
"We have not lost anything and will not lose anything," Putin, Russia's paramount leader since 1999, said. "Everything that is unnecessary, harmful and everything that prevents us from moving forward will be rejected."
"In terms of what we have gained, I can say that the main gain has been the strengthening of our sovereignty, and this is the inevitable result of what is happening now," Putin said. "This will ultimately strengthen our country from within."
He did, though, acknowledge that the conflict had unleashed "a certain polarization" in both the world and in Russia.
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Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what it called a special operation to degrade its southern neighbour's military capabilities and root out people it called dangerous nationalists.
Ukrainian forces have mounted stiff resistance. Neither side has disclosed how many soldiers have been killed.
Source: swissinfo
