Russia has once again justified its invasion of Ukraine as a means of defending itself against the West
Russia has once again publicly justified its full-scale war against Ukraine, claiming that it allegedly “saved” the country from an even larger conflict. Valentina Matvienko voiced these claims, attributing the invasion to “threats from the West” following 2014. At the same time, independent estimates point to millions of casualties in the Russian army, which stand in stark contrast to this rhetoric.
Once again, at the highest levels in Russia, attempts have been made to portray the full-scale invasion of Ukraine as a “necessary measure” that allegedly prevented an even larger war. This statement was made by Valentina Matvienko, Chairwoman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, while commenting on the events surrounding the war and the situation after 2014.
She claims that Ukraine was allegedly beginning to be viewed as a “springboard for a new Western campaign against Russia,” and therefore, according to her, Moscow had no other option. “Moscow had no other way to ensure its security except by conducting a special military operation,” Matvienko stated.
She also added that ending the war on the Kremlin’s terms would allegedly “completely eliminate the threat of a global conflict.” “Only by achieving the objectives of the special military operation will the threat of a global war be completely eliminated,” she emphasized. These statements stand in sharp contrast to international analysts’ assessments of the war’s actual consequences. According to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), as of early 2026, Russia’s total losses in the war against Ukraine amount to approximately 1.2 million people, including hundreds of thousands of fatalities.
It is specifically noted that the lists of the dead by name already exceed 227,000 military personnel. Analysts also emphasize that these losses significantly exceed the figures from certain protracted wars in which the USSR and Russia participated in the past.
Against this backdrop, statements about “preventing war” appear to be the direct opposite of the actual consequences of the hostilities, which have been ongoing for four years now and continue to shift the balance of power in the region. This was stated by Valentina Matvienko, Chairwoman of the Federation Council.
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