Putin denies starting war in Ukraine: 'We're not responsible for deaths'
Photo: Russian president Vladimir Putin (Getty Images)
Russian president Vladimir Putin once again made a cynical statement about the war in Ukraine, attempting to shift responsibility onto Kyiv and Western partners.
“We do not consider ourselves responsible for the deaths of people, because we did not start this war. This war began after the 2014 coup in Ukraine,” the Kremlin leader said.
He made this statement in response to a question from NBC News. The journalist reminded him that Trump is promoting a peace plan, and that Ukraine, according to him, is ready for serious compromises, yet Russia continues to speak about war.
In this context, the journalist directly asked Putin whether he would consider himself responsible for the deaths of Ukrainians and Russians in 2026 if Russia rejects the US president’s peace initiative.
According to Putin’s established narrative, which has become a Kremlin talking point, “the conflict was provoked” by the “Ukrainian regime” following the “2014 coup” (his term for the Euromaidan Revolution) and the start of hostilities in Donbas.
Putin claims that Russia “refrained for a long time” from recognizing the self-proclaimed “republics” in Donbas and “tried to resolve the conflict peacefully.” However, he says that agreements reached during the Minsk negotiations were allegedly violated by Kyiv and its Western supporters.
Putin also praised US President Donald Trump’s peace proposals, claiming that Russia is supposedly “ready to negotiate and end the conflict peacefully.”
He claims that during a meeting with Trump in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025, Russia “practically agreed with the US president’s proposals.”
“To say that we are rejecting something is incorrect and has no basis whatsoever. At previous meetings in Moscow, proposals were made to us, and we were asked to make certain compromises. Arriving in Anchorage, I said that these would be difficult decisions for us, but we agree with the compromises proposed to us,” Putin said.
The Kremlin leader once again stated that Moscow is allegedly ready for negotiations and to end the conflict by peaceful means.
He emphasized that “the ball is on the West’s side,” blaming the West and the Ukrainian authorities for blocking and hindering the peace process.
This is not the first attempt from the Kremlin to shift the blame for the war onto others and avoid responsibility for the large-scale aggression against Ukraine.
Putin’s statement appears particularly cynical against the backdrop of the active Russian offensive in the east. Moscow is also not backing down from its maximalist demands, practically requiring Ukraine’s capitulation under a peace agreement.
During today’s Direct Line, Putin repeated his narrative that “Ukraine refused peace,” while Russia is “ready to negotiate,” but on the conditions of 2024—essentially, if Kyiv surrenders the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions.
