MOSCOW, June 13. /TASS/. The West is violating international law by continuing to supply weapons to Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday at a meeting with military reporters.
The Russian president pointed out that the West is not even trying to conceal the fact that it is pumping Ukraine with weapons, "but on the contrary, they are proud of it."
"By the way, there are certain problems, because it is obvious to a certain extent that they are violating particular international legal norms by delivering weapons to the conflict zone," Putin continued. "They simply prefer not to notice it, but they are in fact, doing it. God help them, they will continue doing it."
Putin said he believed there was no point in blaming them for this as "they pursue their own geopolitical goals in regard to Russia but they will never achieve them."
"Never. They have to realize that eventually. However, I believe that in due time, it will come to them," the Russian president added.
Russia’s special military operation
On February 21, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow was recognizing the sovereignty of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR). Russia signed agreements on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance with the DPR and LPR leaders. Moscow recognized the Donbass republics in accordance with the DPR and LPR constitutions within the boundaries of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions as they existed at the beginning of 2014.
Putin announced on February 24, 2022, that, in response to a request by the heads of the DPR and LPR for assistance, he had decided to carry out a special military operation in Ukraine. The DPR and LPR launched a joint operation to liberate their territories that were under Kiev’s control.
From September 23 to September 27, 2022, the DPR and the LPR as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions held referendums on joining Russia, in which the majority of voters opted to join Russia.
On September 30, 2022, Putin and the heads of the DPR and LPR, and of the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions signed treaties on their accession to the Russian Federation. Later, the State Duma (lower house of Russia’s parliament) and the Federation Council (upper house) approved legislation on ratifying these treaties, as well as federal constitutional laws on the accession of the four regions to Russia.