[In Brief] Putin’s Interview With Pavel Zarubin

Russian President Vladimir Putin told journalist Pavel Zarubin in an interview Western politicians were distorting his words about reasons behind the special military operation, which was triggered by Kyiv’s refusal to implement the Minsk agreements. Putin also shared his impressions from the recent interview to U.S. journalist Tucker Carlson. He said that Russia should have started active actions in Ukraine earlier, described U.S. President Joe Biden as a preferable candidate for Russia and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken – as “our man.” Reasons behind special operation Putin accused Western leaders of twisting and distorting his remarks about reasons behind…