Vladimir Putin
Vladimir PutinReuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin was interviewed Thursday morning about the continuation of the war in Ukraine and the future of Russia.

The interview was held by the Russian president's court journalist, Pavel Zarubin, who screened thousands of questions sent to Putin by Russian citizens and forwarded the selected questions to the president.

During the interview, Putin also referred to Israel's war against Hamas, dubbed "Swords of Iron," and called the situation in Gaza a "catastrophe."

Putin claimed that since invading Ukraine almost two years ago, "Russia has strengthened its sovereignty."

During the interview, which was held before an audience, Putin made it clear to those who thought that his demands for ending the war had changed: "There will be peace with Ukraine only when we achieve our goals and these goals have not changed."

"This includes the de-Nazification and disarmament of Ukraine," added the Russian president.

Putin also referred to the supply of weapons from the West: "Ukraine produces almost nothing today, everything comes from the West, but free supplies are going to run out at some stage, and it seems that this is already starting to happen."

During the interview, Putin was shown a video of the veterans' regiment named after him. The soldiers were lamenting that not all regiments in the Russian army receive the same benefits. The Russian president responded and said that he would ensure that matters are corrected.

He later claimed Russian ownership of the Ukrainian port city of Odessa: "Everyone knows that Odessa is a Russian city, but they invented historical nonsense. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, we put up with this nonsense."

"Russia and Ukraine are actually one nation. In some ways the situation is similar to a civil war," he stated. "Moscow has been trying to build relations with Ukraine for decades. All of southeastern Ukraine is Russian territory, but the Kyiv government invented historical nonsense."

During his speech, Putin mocked leaders of the European countries: "Outwardly they are behaving as if they were de Gaulle. In reality they are behaving like collaborator Pétain (the French puppet ruler who operated on behalf of Nazi Germany)."

Regarding Russia’s retreat in the battle over Krynki, a city of in the Kherson district, Putin said: "In order to protect the soldiers, we decided to move back several meters – the Ukrainian army found itself under fire there."

Putin also referred to the war in Gaza and said: "What is happening there is a catastrophe – if you look at the special military operation in Ukraine, you can see the difference. What is happening in Gaza, is not happening in Ukraine at all."