Putin defends Ukraine invasion at China summit, blames West

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Vladimir Saldo, the Moscow-appointed head of the Russian-controlled Kherson region of Ukraine, during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin sought on Monday to defend his Ukraine offensive to Moscow’s allies, blaming the West for triggering the three-and-a-half year war that has killed tens of thousands and devastated much of eastern Ukraine.

“This crisis was not triggered by Russia’s attack on Ukraine, but was a result of a coup in Ukraine, which was supported and provoked by the West,” Putin said at a summit of the the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in the Chinese city of Tianjin.

That is a reference to Ukraine’s 2013-2014 pro-European revolution, which ousted a pro-Russian president.

Moscow responded by annexing the Crimean peninsula and backing pro-Russian separatists in the east, triggering a civil war.

“The second reason for the crisis is the West’s constant attempts to drag Ukraine into NATO,” the Russian president added.

Putin was speaking at the SCO summit, attended by Russian allies, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Moscow and Beijing have touted the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation as an alternative to Western-led political and security blocs, including NATO.

Putin said the world needed a “system that would replace outdated Eurocentric and Euro-Atlantic models, and take into account the interests of the widest circle of countries”.

“We highly value the efforts and proposals of China, India and our other strategic partners, aimed at contributing to resolving the Ukrainian crisis,” he added.

Despite U.S. President Donald Trump urging both Moscow and Kyiv to strike an agreement to end the war, peace proposals have stuttered.

Putin has rejected calls for a ceasefire and tabled hardline territorial and political demands -- calling for Ukraine to cede more territory and renounce Western backing -- as preconditions for peace.

Kyiv has ruled them out as non-starters.

The Russian leader said he would discuss the diplomacy to end the conflict and his latest talks with Trump in a series of bilateral meetings.

He is set to meet Modi, Pezeshkian and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan for separate talks later Monday.