Russian President Putin Calls Ukraine Conflict a “Pretext” for Western Punitive Measures

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday (local time) described the Ukraine conflict as a mere “pretext” by Western powers to take broader punitive measures against countries maintaining strong economic ties with Russia.
 
 
During a media interaction following his four-day visit to China, the Russian President dismissed the relevance of the Ukraine situation to recent trade actions, noting that the narrative was being deliberately exploited to justify trade restrictions and tariffs that, in reality, serve unrelated political or economic agendas.
 
 
The Russian leader stated that the true reason behind many of these sanctions lies in growing economic imbalances between the West, particularly the United States, and other major economies like India, China, and Brazil.