On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin recommended to neighboring countries “not to aggravate the situation, and not to impose restrictions,” stressing that he “has no bad intentions,” while the Kremlin called for the unity of the Russian people.
“I want to emphasize once again – we have always said this – that we have no ill intentions towards our neighbors,” Putin said during a conversation with the governor of the Kaliningrad enclave, Anton Alikhanov, during the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces.
despite the attack, Putin recommended Russia’s neighbors “not to escalate the situation and not to impose restrictions” and stressed that Moscow “fulfills and will continue to fulfill all its obligations.”.
“Despite the difficulty and complexity of the matter, we will continue to develop, without fail, we will strengthen the transport and logistics infrastructure throughout the country,” the Russian president added.
Putin also spoke today with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, who briefed him on the details of the “special military operation”, in which Russia classifies the invasion of Ukraine.
According to the Kremlin, Putin confirmed in the conversation that the military campaign is progressing according to plan, as informed by French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday.
The Russian president also took the opportunity to talk about the second round of negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian negotiating groups, which was held in Belarus on Thursday, before which Lukashenko expressed his support for Russian military actions in the neighboring country.
For its part, the Kremlin today appealed to the Russian people to unite around their leader.
“This is not the time for division. This is the time for us to unite,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during a press conference. “Unite around our president.”
There are already heated debates. There are those who support the president and support him sincerely. There are those who do not understand what is happening. To those we must patiently explain, Peskov said.
In Russia, there are many petitions from citizens, including figures from the world of culture, calling for an end to the invasion of Ukraine.
Russian authorities have tightened their controls on inside information, including shutting down independent media, blocking news websites and changing legislation providing prison sentences for “false information.”
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