The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.
© Thomson Reuters 2024.Putin ally says 'Ukraine is Russia' and historical territory needs to 'come home'
By Andrew Osborn MOSCOW©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.
Video promotion
63 Comments
TaiwanIsNotChina
Oh look, it's even nuttier bad cop mouthing off again. We already know you and Putin are genocidal maniacs.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Kyiv was part of the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth for 300 years from 1362 to 1654. Nearly 300 years. Lviv wasn't part of Russia until 1939 with that infamous land theft. Sounds like Russia should be happy with what they have stolen so far and let it be at that.
stormcrow
Ukraine is lost if the Republicans don’t get their act together.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Love your optimism, Dimitry, but your conscripts can't float your artillery pieces any better than Ukraine could.
Haaa Nemui
Resistance is futile! Surrender now!
Haaa Nemui
I mean “It’s time for a negotiated peace settlement”
UChosePoorly
Lol, no
TaiwanIsNotChina
All that is conceivably on offer is a ceasefire and Putin isn't signed up for that.
So since Russia came out of those borderlands, does that mean that it is even more irrelevant?
Boo hoo. You signed two treaties securing Ukrainian territorial integrity plus the UN Charter.
How about Russia have borders matching its ethnic identities first?
Because they wanted to.
And yet some of the other apologists think that this is the model.
Not with an independent Ukraine he can't.
UChosePoorly
The Czechoslovakia model (or the USSR model if you prefer) is what we are hoping for this young Russian Federation.
TokyoLiving
The war is lost, Russia map will bigger very soon..
Get used to it..
UChosePoorly
I wonder if the countless ethnic minorities currently under Moscow’s thumb would prefer to govern themselves as they used to do before domination by the White Russians?
UChosePoorly
Has anyone even asked them recently?
theFu
Negotiations begin when Russia leaves Ukraine. Why is that so hard to understand?
Yrral
Putin got his mojo back while Biden is floundering in the abyss
ok1517
Drunk Medvedev at it again!
Maybe he should consume less vodka and seek some help!
And I got some news for Medvedev and others like him.
This is what the map should look like:
Concerning the demands for peace negotiations:
YES, sure - under the conditions set by Ukraine!
Remove all Russian occupiers from all illegally seized areas, incl. but not limited to Crimea.
Pay war reparations.
Send those from the Russian side responsible for war crimes etc. to DeHague (Intern. tribunal)!
(more points to be added!)
Ukraine prevails!
John
It would be ungovernable and would cost a million (more) Russian lives not to mention the separation of Russia from the world system.
wallace
Ex-KGB Putin would like to see Russia like the Soviet Union again. Delusional manic.
UChosePoorly
And there wouldn’t be much left there after such a war anyway, even if Russia could take the land, which they can’t. It will look just like Bakhmut and Avdiivka do now. Probably worse.
nik
Ukraine is a subsidized state. This was the case during the Soviet Union, and nothing has changed now. Now Ukraine is supported by subsidies from the West.
Antiquesaving
Interesting?
Are we to apply the ask them, equally or only when the west agrees?
When ethnic minority regions declare independence, it is funny how the west reacts.
If the USA and UK and EU like it then it is legitimate like with Kosovo, when they don't then it is suppressed like Catalonia!
Would your feelings be the same with other countries?
Canada (Quebec and as the population is going in other regions will soon also be large non white population)? How about mexico Chiapas?
France and Spain's Baske regions? Oh and let's not forget Arabs in Israel!
The west has this strange way of applying "protect minorities" and country territorial integrity and that way is: " if we the USA, EU, UK agree with it then what we say goes".
Antiquesaving
Isn't it time to stop the 2 fantasies?
Russia will never fully conquer Ukraine even if it wanted to!
Ukraine is not winning, will not retake the entire lost territory!
Russia didn't just lose 70,000 killed as they claim and Ukraine most certainly didn't lose 31,000 killed!
Why don't both the rah rah rah Russia and the rah rah rah Ukraine people not from these two places stop swallowing the propaganda and face reality and push both sides to a settlement!
I will never understand the pro Russians that believe the propaganda by fools like Medvedev and Putin, nor will I understand the pro Ukrainians that believe the propaganda from fools like Zelenski, Ursula von der Leyen, Blinken, etc...
Fighto!
No one cares what fascist Russia or Communist China put on their fake maps.
Crimea is not listed as Russian in maps of non totalitarian nations. Parts of sovereign Ukraine will likewise never be shown as Russian - because they are Ukrainian.
Nonsensical argument. By that "reasoning" the UK and the US should be part of Germany since the majority of their citizens are of Germanic ethnicity.
TaiwanIsNotChina
So those helmets and training were keeping the Ukrainian state afloat before 2022. Fascinating.
UChosePoorly
If Russia is going to do this Ukraine, then they have no right to complain if the same thing happens to them, do they?
There is always someone bigger, stronger, and richer.
TaiwanIsNotChina
The whole point is that we aren't redrawing boundaries unless there is an actual civil war and not a fake civil war like Russia imposed on Ukraine. Also Russia swore 3x it would support the territorial integrity of Ukraine. And that is just my own count.
UChosePoorly
I like you think of myself as more of a rah rah rah ‘don’t invade other countries’ person.
Good on you for finally saying a cross word to the pro-Russians, but you enabled them too.
Antiquesaving
Nice side stepping the question!
UChosePoorly
AS - my answer to your question isn’t going to be that satisfying to anyone, but I don’t think other countries should meddle in the problems White Russians have with their minority areas. IOW, no RTP.
UChosePoorly
Sucks, but those non-white areas of Russia that are currently under the heel of the White ethnic Russians are either going to have to stand up for themselves or they will just get more of the same from Muscovy.
Antiquesaving
So what you are saying is if Catalonia (which voted independence) wants to actually be independent and recognized it needs to have a war with Spain!
So votes, regional conflicts, etc... don't count only "real" civil wars.
So if Taiwan decides to vote independence and be a country, that would not be acceptable to you unless it has a civil war with mainland China!
Interesting!
UChosePoorly
The country whose land it is would obviously need to agree, no? Otherwise what is the enforcement mechanism?
TaiwanIsNotChina
Not according to Medvedev and some of the accounts here. At a minimum they still want to make Ukraine a landlocked country, which is unacceptable.
They also aren't moving back that much.
The settlement can only be an unconditional ceasefire and nothing more. If that is what you support, then you should be in favor of guns so that Ukraine can bring it about.
Zelenskyy is literally doing superhuman work rallying his country. On what basis do you criticize him in any respect? Propaganda is literally a necessary instrument of war.
UChosePoorly
For real, I don’t even mind the propaganda much anymore, but just because it is easy to spot, but I have come to be reassured that most people can see it too. I am only of average intelligence, so this make me feel good.
UChosePoorly
not* just because
lincolnman
This Moron says a lot of things - all unhinged Kremlin lies and fairy tales...
I don't think he actually believes any of this pitiful faux bluster and bombast, I think he's been told by Vlad that this is his role in the Kremlin Potemkin Village theater, and if he doesn't perform, he may find his way out an 8th story window...
Pay him no attention - he's irrelevant...
TaiwanIsNotChina
Pretty much. I can't just declare myself a country of one and have it recognized internationally without first dealing with the people sent to put a stop to it.
They already had that civil war 75 years ago and the result was two countries. If you want to claim it is still going on, you are welcome to do so, but don't be surprised if others consider that pretty foolish and lacking in common sense. Also the PRC split from the ROC.
TokyoLiving
That war is lost for Kyiv regime.. Even Abrams waited for 2 years are destroyed in 20 minutes..
Welcome home new Russian territories!!!...
Antiquesaving
For all intensive purposes, Russia is basically a dictatorship. We know that the Russians know that.
So pretty much everybody expects lies and propaganda! And we ignore it!
The problem with propaganda comes when they so-called democracy starts using it when it's all fake, lies and exaggerations.
We know for a fact that support for Ukraine in the west is dropping, but unlike what some try to say, it's not because they're losing more territory or that Russia is winning. It is because of the propaganda.
We were told how well Ukraine was doing. We were told how the counter offensive last summer was a success. We were told how they were going to get to Crimea. We're told that very few Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and enormous numbers of Russian troops have been killed. We were told that the Russians would run out of ammunition and on and on and on.
But then people started to look at the facts on the ground and the facts don't equal or don't even come close to the propaganda by Ukraine, the USA, the UK, the EU.
So what has really hurt support for Ukraine are the lies!
Many in the west no longer know what to believe. The propaganda is backfiring.
Medvedev and Putin can say all the junk they want to say because they don't care about popular opinion, elections are rigged, information state controlled, and the people their know it!
We on the other hand expect the truth and we haven't gotten it and now people are no longer trust what is being said by our western leaders.
So the dropping support for Ukraine is because of the lies not the battlefield or territorial losses.
Chabbawanga
Crimea is a given at this point. It would be very generous of Russia to give Donbass back to Ukraine, but it would certainly make for an easier peace negotiation.
UChosePoorly
In my country, any person or entity or geographical grouping is free to claim they are independent of and not subject to the laws of the country, but the rest of us are free to ignore their craziness or put them down with extreme prejudice depending on the particulars involved. I suspect most countries are similar.
UChosePoorly
As responsible adults, most of us have no problem acting through the noise to get to the truth. It sounds like you are having some trouble doing so. Let me know if I can be of any assistance. Times have changed and can be scary for those of us who are older.
UChosePoorly
sifting, not acting
UChosePoorly
To me, this sounds like a country not operating at its full potential. If a country with an economy as small as Russia is not operating at full potential, then they are less fearsome than we had thought.
Antiquesaving
Actually I have no problem!
But reading your comments for years now, it seems more likely you do have a problem!
You keep hanging on to the tiniest thread, you repeat propaganda right up to the moment the west has to admit Ukraine lost this or that place.
I live in reality not the fantasy that the western propaganda and others try pushing.
And the reality is when people are lied to in a democracy, they lose faith in those doing the lying and no longer support them.
UChosePoorly
Yeah. I’m not that guy. I keep up to date on the maps and have no problem admitting it when Ukraine has setbacks. I also like to point out the numerous Russian setbacks, sometimes with video.
Say, you and I ought to change our positions for the next 12 months. I could argue for Russia and you could argue for Ukraine. Wouldn’t that be a neat thought experiment?
UChosePoorly
I already don’t trust the media and only vote for a candidate after doing my research on them. I have also learned not to trust those who have authoritarian tendencies.
UChosePoorly
AS - would you rather I vote for Donald Trump?
Antiquesaving
I noticed the attempt at "admitting"! But then I noticed the need for you to add Russia and "numerous" which you left out of your admission on Ukraine.
The reality is Ukraine lost more territory last year even with the tiny advances they got in the summer.
And now have lost even more I'm just the past 2 months. And yes like you tried "with video" confirmation.
Laguna
Better look at an historical map of China before expressing such sentiments. Vladivostok is at stake.
Antiquesaving
Ah the "Trump" card !
I was wondering when someone not happy with facts would try bring that up!
Gold medal for being the first!
BTW I am not American so I don't care!
UChosePoorly
AS - so do you want to try arguing in favor of Ukraine? And I will do Russia?
UChosePoorly
lol, never satisfied, this guy. I’ll get off your lawn.
stormcrow
This is like a repeat of the Munich Agreement, except this time it’s the do-nothings on here and Putin. Remember peace in our time? Just the opposite happened. By feeding the beast, it just grew hungrier instead of friendlier.
PTownsend
The above is a reminder to the Putin-stans posting here, that it's your regime saying no peace talks.Another reminder to the anti-democracy herds; it's your Russia that initiated the military actions, Russia sent its little green men to places near Russia's borders to ramp up hostilities and provide weapons to those that want to once again be controlled from Moscow. Today it's Russia that's the warmongering empire wanting to further expand its vast territories, and that does not want to be part of a world in which they do not control the globe, and Russia has partners like Iran, North Korea, China and right wingers in many western nations supporting Russia's quest to be the borg.
Mr Kipling
I think he may be pulling some legs a little early for April fools day. The map he presented was basically just Kiev and Lviv... in a land locked country. They would love Odessa but that would be a big push. Take this all with a large pinch of salt..as you should with Ukraine's claims of taking back Crimea. Neither are going to happen anytime soon.
Mr Kipling
Loved the video of the Russian soldier begging the US to send more "empty can" Abrams tanks. Russians get a bonus for destroying them and other western "game changers".
JJE
Crimea and the Donbass have already come back home. Others will follow.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Then the West needs an education in what it means to be at total war. Ukraine can provide such an education if people aren't stuck listening to their craven former presidents and influencers.
wallace
Ukraine is an internationally recognized sovereign country and a member of the UN. Russia stealing its land changes nothing.
UChosePoorly
Good for him. Does that balance threatening to nuke people every other week like he is doing?