MOSCOW. May 17 (Interfax) - Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev has described the special operation in Ukraine as a forced preemptive measure taken amid the increasing threat to Russia.
"We had to take the preemptive measure because threats to national security and neglect for the interests of our country reached a level jeopardizing the very statehood of Russia and its existence," Patrushev said at a meeting of the Russian Security Council's Academic Board on Tuesday.
"The West was bolstering support for Kyiv and was pushing it to carry out a largescale armed operation in eastern Ukraine," he said.