Russian dictator putin claimed that hostilities could have supposedly been avoided if Kyiv had agreed in 2022 to withdraw from the territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. He said this in an interview with russian media on January 28.
"Negotiations actually began immediately after the start of the SMO. At first, we told the then Ukrainian leadership: the people in 'DNR' and 'LNR' do not want to be part of Ukraine, leave, and that’s it, everything will end there", - putin interprets the events.
It was previously reported that putin called Zelensky "illegitimate" and explained how to overturn the decree banning negotiations with russia.