BEIJING, September 3. /TASS/. Russia asked Ukraine to withdraw its troops from Donbass and put an end the conflict back in 2022, but after the Russian Armed Forces withdrew from Kiev, Ukraine changed its mind, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a news conference following his visit to China.

"Back in 2022, we urged the Ukrainian authorities to respect the choice of those people who live in southeastern Ukraine, withdraw their troops from there and end this conflict immediately. I must say that, in general, this did not cause complete rejection. But after we, at the insistent calls of our Western European colleagues, withdrew our troops from Kiev, the situation immediately changed, and we were told, almost verbatim, 'now we will fight until you turn our head off, or we will turn yours off'," he said.

"I don't remember whether I ever said this publicly or not, but it sounded something like this. Only in more crude terms, but quite openly and, as strange as it sounds, in a comradely way: now it's either us or you. This is all continuing," he emphasized.