'Had no other choice', 'was forced': What Putin says to defend war on Ukraine
Hindustan TimesRussian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday defended his action that has brought the world to the precipice of war and said he had no other option but to order the special operation against Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting with representatives of the business community at the Kremlin in Moscow, Facing several sanctions for the situation in Ukraine, Putin on Thursday held a televised meeting with business leaders and told Alexander Shokhin, the head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs that Moscow had been forced into taking action and knew that sanctions would follow. Follow live update "We all understand the world we live in and were prepared in one way or another for what is now happening from the point of view of sanctions policy," Putin said. "I want to thank you for what has been done so far in rather difficult conditions," Putin told Shokhin as Shokin said Russia should now stimulate extra demand for government debt from private investors.