"If what is taking place right now continues, and it is now completely obvious that not only has their counteroffensive failed, but the initiative is in the hands of the Russian Armed Forces, if this continues, Ukraine's statehood may face an irreparable and very serious blow," Putin said at a meeting with heads of municipalities of Russia on Tuesday.
"A day later they threw all the agreements into the trash, and now they are saying publicly (including the head of the Ukrainian negotiating group) that 'yes, we were ready, but we missed the chance, because then-prime minister of Britain Mr. Johnson came and persuaded us not to implement these agreements.' Fools, are they not? They're admitting directly that if they had gone for it, everything could have been ended a long time ago, a year and a half ago," Putin said.