Putin: Invasion of Ukraine aims to unite “historic Russia” | News of the war between Russia and Ukraine

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The Russian president says Moscow is ready to negotiate and accuses “geopolitical opponents” of trying to divide Russia.

President Vladimir Putin said that the Russian attack on Ukraine is being carried out to “unite the Russian people”.

Putin used the concept of “historical Russia” to argue in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday that Ukrainians and Russians are one people as he sought to justify his 10-month offensive in Ukraine and undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty.

Russia’s geopolitical opponents [were] With the aim of tearing apart Russia, historical Russia,” Putin said in excerpts from a broadcast by the national TV channel Russia 1.

“Divide and rule,” Putin said, “this is what they have always strived for and are still striving for.”

And the Russian president added: “But our goal is different: it is to unite the Russian people.”

Putin reiterated that Moscow was ready to negotiate, but said Ukraine and its Western allies had refused to hold talks.

High death toll

In southern Ukraine, the death toll from Russian attacks on the city of Kherson has risen to 16, and 64 more have been injured, the region’s military governor said Sunday, as sirens sounded across the country on Christmas Day.

Jaroslav Janusevich stated on Telegram that among the dead were three men who died while clearing mines.

The Ukrainian military counted 71 attacks on the partially recaptured region on Saturday, including 41 on the main capital area.

Despite Russia’s withdrawal from the city, Kherson remains within reach of Moscow’s arms and under constant threat.

senseless war

From St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on Sunday, Pope Francis called for an end to the “foolish” war in Ukraine during his traditional Christmas message.

“May the Lord inspire us to make tangible signs of solidarity to help all who suffer, to enlighten the minds of those who have the power to silence the thunder of arms and bring an immediate end to this senseless war,” said the head of the Roman Catholic Church.

The new Associated Press reported Sunday that some Ukrainians, who, like Russians, usually celebrate Christmas on January 7, changed their traditions in reaction to the Russian war.

The agency said that some Orthodox Ukrainians decided to celebrate Christmas on December 25, like members of Western Christian churches.

In October, the leadership of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is not loyal to the Russian Church and is one of the two branches of Orthodox Christianity in the country, agreed to allow believers to celebrate on December 25th.

“What started on February 24, the total invasion, is the awakening and understanding that we can no longer be part of the Russian world,” Olena Pali, a 33-year-old resident of Pobretsya near Kyiv, told the Associated Press.

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