Ukraine - Russia relations

Professor at Austria's Innsbruck University and member of a group of Russia experts that meets yearly with Putin

22 Feb 2022 3 2

Volodymyr Zelenskiy

Inserted 2 years ago

“I've received a request from the foreign ministry. I will consider the issue of severing diplomatic relations between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. Immediately after our press conference, I will consider this issue. As for martial law ... this question is clear to us. We believe that there will be no war, there will be no powerful (war) against Ukraine and there will be no wide escalation by the Russian Federation. If there is a (wide escalation), then martial law will be introduced.”

President of Ukraine

22 Feb 2022 6 3

Vladimir Putin

Inserted 2 years ago

“I have heard your opinions. The decision will be taken today.”

President of Russia

21 Feb 2022 2 4

Vladimir Putin

Inserted 2 years ago

“It is clear to everyone that (Ukraine) is not going to do anything on this Minsk package of measures... Russia has made and is still making efforts to peacefully resolve all the difficult and tragic elements in the development of events, but today we are where we are.”

President of Russia

21 Feb 2022 3 2

Dmytro Kuleba

Inserted 2 years ago

“Russia has to be stopped right now. We see how events are unfolding. It's time to act. I'm officially saying that there are all the grounds to implement at least a part of sanctions prepared against Russia, now.”

Foreign Minister of Ukraine

20 Feb 2022 2 2

Leonid Pasechnik

Inserted 2 years ago

“To prevent civilian casualties, I am calling on the residents of the republics who do not have mobilization orders and are not involved in operating social and civilian infrastructure, to depart as soon as possible to the Russian Federation. The Russian Federation is ready to ensure organized reception and accommodation of LPR [Luhansk People's Republic] residents on its territory.”

Interfax

Head of the Luhansk People's Republic

18 Feb 2022 3 3

Vladimir Putin

Inserted 2 years ago

“All that Kyiv needs to do is sit at the negotiating table with representatives of the Donbas and agree on political, military and economic measures to end the conflict. Unfortunately, right now we see a deterioration of the situation in the Donbas.”

President of Russia

18 Feb 2022 2 3

Valery Shiryaev

Inserted 2 years ago

“Such a large military presence is not unprecedented. Ukrainian newspapers reported the presence of as many as 100,000 Russian soldiers in bordering regions several years ago. This number is constant because of a continuous cycle of military exercises taking place in these regions that have seen military personnel come and go with each new drill. Now these exercises are being used as part of a system of military-political pressure. No one knows whether the results will be achieved, but [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has already forced Western countries to sit down at the negotiating table. This is already a victory.”

Military columnist for Novaya Gazeta

18 Feb 2022 4 3

Dmytro Kuleba

Inserted 2 years ago

“Ukrainian Stanytsia Luhanska village was shelled with heavy weapons from the occupied territory of the Donbas. Civilian infrastructure damaged. We call on all partners to swiftly condemn this severe violation of Minsk agreements by Russia amid an already tense security situation.”

Foreign Minister of Ukraine

17 Feb 2022 5 3

Matthew Schmidt

Inserted 2 years ago

“He [Vladimir Putin] said this is quasi-religious ... the idea that there is sacred soil that exists outside of that, the territorial borders of Russia, and that what you need to do is regain that sacred soil and the ethnic Russians that are on it, whether they want to be part of your state or not. The idea of Putin looking at Ukraine through a nationalist or ethnic-identity lens is one of the most alarming things about the standoff over Ukraine. It's also something non-Russians tend to overlook in their eagerness to interpret Putin's actions and motivations the possibility that the consequences of invading Ukraine mean little to him in the face of a quasi-religious quest. So if that's driving him, I think all bets are off.”

Cbc

Associate professor and national security expert at the University of New Haven in Connecticut

16 Feb 2022 4 3

Colin Robertson

Inserted 2 years ago

“It comes down to Putin because he has a view of history that sees the greatest catastrophe of the 20th century being the dissolution of the Soviet Union. And I think, before he leaves, he's determined to restore as much of that as he can. He's in his late 60s now and I think he's determined to do it before he leaves - bring Ukraine back into Russia by force, if necessary, preferably by bluff.”

Cbc

Former Canadian diplomat

16 Feb 2022 3 3

Volodymyr Zelenskiy

Inserted 2 years ago

“Today, many journalists and many leaders are hinting a little to Ukraine that it is possible not to take risks, not to constantly raise the issue of future membership in the alliance [NATO], because these risks are associated with the reaction of the Russian Federation. I believe that we should move along the path we have chosen.”

Euronews

President of Ukraine

14 Feb 2022 2 2

Dmitry Peskov

Inserted 2 years ago

“There were positive signals that a solution to Ukraine could be based only on fulfilling the Minsk agreements. There is no indication from Zelenskiy that Ukraine's authorities are ready to quickly do what Kyiv should have done long ago. So there are positive signals and there are less positive.”

Kremlin spokesman

09 Feb 2022 3 1

Alexander Khara

Inserted 2 years ago

“The military presence is aimed at threatening Poland and Lithuania westwards, and Ukraine's north. The message is that Russia is able to conduct an operation that could seize Kyiv. They're stretching our limited resources, preparing for a possible assault and conducting intelligence gathering to see what capabilities we employ and how we react. It sends the clear message that they have the goal, capability and political will to apply military force in Ukraine if the West don't agree to [President Vladimir] Putin's demands.”

Former Ukrainian diplomat and security policy expert at the Centre for Defence Strategies

09 Feb 2022 6 3

Anton Orekh

Inserted 2 years ago

“There is no foreign policy in Russia - only domestic. Therefore, the point of all this back-and-forth and squabbling is to have it all on the air, around the clock. If suddenly NATO makes some compromises, then we will scream that a great victory has been won … Our interest is not that the crisis is resolved, but that it exists. The Kremlin's interest is not in a settlement, but in constant tension.”

Russian journalist

31 Jan 2022 (approx) 3 4

Volodymyr Ishchenko

Inserted 2 years ago

“This narrative is fed by nameless, anonymous officials to the media, while it's far from clear that this is an accurate description of Russian plans. The Ukrainian government doesn't really buy it, and their very consolidated message is that a Russian invasion or the occupying of major cities are very, very unlikely. The number of [Russian] troops at Ukrainian borders are not really significantly greater than the troops that have been there since spring last year.”

Ukrainian sociologist and research associate at the Institute of East European Studies, Freie Universität Berlin

28 Jan 2022 1 2

Dmytro Kuleba

Inserted 2 years ago

“The good news is that advisers agreed to meet in Berlin in two weeks, which means that Russia for the next two weeks is likely to remain on the diplomatic track.”

Rferl

Foreign Minister of Ukraine

27 Jan 2022 2 1

Andrei Kortunov

Inserted 2 years ago

“If you want to stage a successful coup you need to have a lot of support from the inside, which Putin apparently doesn't have. On top of that, if you change the government, you own Ukraine … and that would be a very expensive enterprise for the Russian leadership.”