After Destroying Ukraine, Putin Howls Western Aid For Kyiv Is 'Destructive'

Russian President Vladimir Putin has told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a phone call that the German and Western line on Ukraine was "destructive" and urged Berlin to rethink its approach, the Kremlin said, Euronews reported.

Photo Insert: Putin and Scholz during a meeting last February 2022

Its readout of the call served to highlight the gulf between Russia and Western governments over Ukraine, even though Moscow and Washington have both said in the past 24 hours that they are open in principle to talks.

"Attention was drawn to the destructive line of Western states, including Germany, which are pumping the Kyiv regime with weapons and training the Ukrainian military," the Kremlin said.

"All this, as well as comprehensive political and financial support for Ukraine, leads to the fact that Kyiv completely rejects the idea of ​​any negotiations."

Kyiv says peace talks are possible only if Russia stops attacking Ukrainian territory and withdraws its troops from Ukrainian soil. Ukraine said Putin must have gone mad, arguing that it was he who destroyed Ukraine and is now telling the West and Germany that they are taking a destructive line in helping Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky kick out Russian troops from his country.

Observers said it appears that it is Putin who is seeking talks after his troops have been bruised, battered, bloodied and kicked out of Kherson and other regions in Ukraine.

After Putin proclaimed the annexation of Ukrainian territory in September, Zelensky said talks would not be possible as long as Putin remains in power, although Ukraine has not emphasized that condition in recent weeks.

Putin "called on the German side to reconsider its approaches in the context of the Ukrainian events," the Kremlin added.

It said Putin defended Russia's missile strikes on targets in Ukraine as a forced response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian infrastructure, including a key bridge between Russia and Crimea.

He also said Russia should be allowed to participate in investigations into what it called the "terrorist" attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea, after Norway and Finland found out that only Russian vessels and planes were monitored in those areas before explosions blasted those pipelines.

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