Putin Hits Russian Talking Points Over Ukraine Ahead Of Peace Summit

Wires carrying comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin on the war in Ukraine. Putin says: "No one in West wants to recall that war in Ukraine started from state coup in Ukraine. United States provoked the coup in Ukraine..."

• Putin: "We didn't start the war in Ukraine... Kyiv waged war against Ukraine’s eastern regions… we didn't attack, we defended.”
• Putin says on Western weapons in Ukraine: "Those who supply weapons also direct the weapons, it's a very dangerous step," noting in particular, "German tanks in Ukraine were a moral shock for Russians... If German missiles attack Russia, this would destroy relations between Russia and Germany."
• Putin's comments are consistent with those he has made throughout the war but the escalation in rhetoric likely reflect two evolving dynamics. Firstly, allies of Ukraine, including the US, Germany, France, and UK, have recently removed some restrictions on Kyiv using Western-supplied weapons to strike targets within Russia.
• NBC News reports: "A senior Ukrainian official hinted Monday that Kyiv had hit a missile system inside Russia using Western weapons," just days after the policy pivot, citing a deleted social media post.
• Secondly, Moscow has upped messaging ahead of the Lucerne peace summit on June 15. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of applying pressure on countries not to attend. References to US interference are often employed by the Kremlin to speak to neutral states of the 'global south' and stimulate sympathy with countries that are sympathetic to such arguments.