Putin explains why Russia did not start full-scale war against Ukraine in 2014

Putin stated this on one of the Russian propaganda TV channels.

Answering the question whether it was worth starting the full-scale military operation against Ukraine in 2014, he admitted that Russia was not ready for that.

“When it comes to readiness and expediency, there is no conditional way in such cases, firstly. Secondly, it also concerns our preparedness for more serious actions beyond the framework of the so-called Crimean Spring," stated Putin.

He added that Russia did not have the modern types of weapons that it allegedly possesses now.

“We have a lot of work to do, for example, in developing our ground forces. However, we now have hypersonic weapons, which we didn't have before. Although we have not yet used them, they are in our possession. There are also other modern systems that we did not have in 2014," Putin explained.

• On January 18, Vladimir Putin announced that he had launched the ‘special military operation’ to end the war in Ukraine.