Source: ISW
Verbatim ISW: "Putin reiterated his statement that he should have violated the ceasefire he imposed on Ukraine in 2014 and 2015 by starting a full-scale invasion even before February 2022."
Details: Analysts point out that in an interview with Kremlin journalist Pavel Zarubin on December 22, Putin repeated that Russia should have launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine earlier than February 2022, but added that it is impossible to say exactly when this should have happened.
Putin accused Ukraine and the West of allegedly "misleading Russia" and failing to fulfill the Minsk agreements, which he claimed allowed the West time to prepare Ukraine for future "military actions" against Russia. He stated that Russia should have "prepared for this" and "chosen the right moment" to initiate a full-scale invasion of Ukraine rather than "waiting for a moment when nothing could be done."
Verbatim ISW: "Putin did not mention that Ukraine had been working to strengthen its army as a defensive response to the occupation of Ukrainian territory by Russia in 2014 and the start of the war in the eastern part of the country."
Details: The report reminds us that Putin made similar statements during his televised press conference "Direct Line" on December 19, where he said he would have made the decision for a full-scale invasion earlier if he could do it again.
On December 19, Putin also stated that Ukraine was not adhering to the Minsk agreements, and that Russia "spontaneously" invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Verbatim ISW: "The Minsk agreements II were extremely favorable to Russia, imposing no obligations on Moscow, which participated in the negotiations as a supposedly neutral mediator.
The agreements established a "ceasefire regime" that Russian puppets constantly violated with Russia's support."
Key findings from ISW on December 22:
- Putin repeated his latest statement that he should have violated the ceasefire he imposed on Ukraine in 2014 and 2015, starting a full-scale invasion even before February 2022.
- Reports indicate that Ukrainian forces struck an oil depot in the Oryol region using drones on the night of December 21-22.
- Russian troops recently executed even more Ukrainian prisoners of war on the battlefield.
- Ukrainian forces regained lost positions in the western part of the Zaporizhzhia region, while Russian troops advanced near Kupiansk, Toretsk, Pokrovsk, and in the Kursk region.
- North Korea may have supplied Russia with at least four additional ballistic missiles.