MOSCOW. June 14 (Interfax) - Russian forces came close to Kiev at the beginning of the special military operation but did not plan to storm the city, Moscow simply wanted to push Kiev into talks, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"Back then, in February-March 2022, our forces approached Kiev, and there is still a lot of speculation on the subject both in Ukraine and in the West. Indeed, our units approached Kiev. The defense, security and law enforcement agencies had different ideas about our further actions. But there was no political decision to storm the city of three million [people], no matter who might say and imagine what," Putin said at a meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday.
"In fact, it was nothing but an operation aimed at forcing the Ukrainian regime to peace," Putin said.