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Four quotes from Vladimir Putin explaining how Russia is winning the war in Ukraine, which is not really a war, and Russia didn’t start it even if it were, but it should have even sooner
Source: Meduza
Kostyantynivka, in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, November 28, 2025
Oleg Petrasiuk / Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA
July 2022: Russia has not yet begun to fight
(addressing the State Duma)
We hear today that they want to defeat us on the battlefield… Well, what’s there to say? Let them try. But everyone should realize that we haven’t even really gotten started yet.
October 2023: We didn’t start the war
(addressing the Valdai Forum)
I have said more than once that we did not start the so-called war in Ukraine. On the contrary, we are trying to end it.
February 2024: We started the war too late
(from an interview with propagandist Pavel Zarubin)
Our one regret is not taking action sooner, having believed that we were dealing with decent people.
December 2025: This isn’t even a war
(speaking to journalists before negotiations with the U.S.)
In Ukraine, we are acting surgically, very carefully, so that… well, it’s clear, isn’t it? This is not a war in the direct, modern sense of the word.