World

Putin Claims Ukraine Was ‘Completely Created’ By Russia, Blasts Communists For ‘Giving’ It ‘Away’

Screenshot via YouTube/RT America

Michael Ginsberg Congressional Correspondent
Font Size:

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed in a Monday speech that Ukraine was “completely created” by the Soviet Union in the aftermath of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution

Ukraine is “an inherent part of our history, culture, spiritual space. They are our comrades, relatives, not only colleagues, friends, but also our family, people we have blood and family ties with,” Putin said, according to a translation provided by the state-run RT America. The comments marked a significant escalation in rhetoric from the former KGB agent, who announced earlier in the day that Russia would recognize two oblasts in eastern Ukraine as independent republics.

Putin went on to blast communist-era leaders Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, and Nikita Khrushchev for “giving away” parts of the Soviet Union to Poland, Hungary, and Ukraine. He described the creation of a communist government in Ukraine as a “generous gift that even the most blatant nationalists could never dream of.”

“Of course, what happened in the past can not be changed. But at least we have to talk about it in an honest and direct way,” he continued. “We have every reason to say now that Ukraine was created by Vladimir Lenin. He is its creator and architect, and its fully confirmed by the documents from the archives.”

He went on to accuse “radicals” and “nationalists” of “stealing” Ukraine from Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union, adding that Russia still contributed billions of dollars in aid to the country.

Russia has stationed nearly 200,000 troops along its border with Ukraine, moving soldiers west from as far east as Siberia. It is reportedly considering launching a false flag attack as a pretext for invasion. Putin previously used a false flag attack to create a pretext for war in Chechnya in 1999. (RELATED: Biden Says US Believes Putin Has Decided To Invade Ukraine, Will Target Kyiv)

Putin also accused Ukraine of “enhancing its security at the expense” of Russia by attempting to join the defensive North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which he called a “direct threat.”

President Joe Biden and Putin are expected to meet on Thursday, although Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the White House will cancel the meeting if Russia invades Ukraine.