Russia's President Vladimir Putin has boldly claimed that it has become his responsibility to take back and strengthen Ukraine as he appeared to finally admit the invasion was about returning land to Russia.
The Russian warmonger attended a meeting with young entrepreneurs and specialists ahead of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in the capital Moscow, in which he compared himself to Peter the Great, the 18th-century Russian monarch, who waged war on Sweden.
Putin said: "Peter the Great led the Northern War for 21 years. It would seem that he fought with Sweden, and captured land… but he didn't conquer it, he returned it.
"Well, it seems it has also now fallen to us to take back and strengthen land and if we take these basic values as fundamental to our existence, we will prevail in solving the issues we are facing."
Up until this point, Putin and his propagandists have cited everything from a supposed "threat" posed by NATO to the "neo-Nazis" he spuriously claimed have overrun Ukraine, as reasons for his unprovoked and bloody invasion of Russia's neighbours.
But today, after more than 100 days of war, Putin has openly claimed that he is "returning" land to Russia.
Peter the Great was the early 18th-century Russian czar and many think his expansionist policies and military reforms helped Russia become the powerful country it is today.
Putin often celebrates Peter for boldly seizing territory and power for Russia, saying he laid the groundwork for what would become a geopolitical powerhouse.
He went on to say the European Union is a "colony" of the United States and that no nation could both be sovereign and a colony.
The brute then said that even an organisation as historical as the EU "has no chance of surviving in such a tough geopolitical struggle."
In a shocking new statement, the Kremlin leader seemed to express sympathy for the war but still blamed Ukrainians for it: "What can I say, everything now happening there in Ukraine is a nightmare and is horrific. And we should blame not only the Ukrainians, but all civilians and, of course, the United States."
Mr Putin added: "When Peter the Great laid the new capital in St Petersburg, none of the European countries recognised this territory as Russian, everyone recognised it as Swedish."
Again referencing Peter's crusades, he spoke about Peter's second attempt to seize Narva from the Swedish Empire, saying he "returned and strengthened — that's what he did." Putin seemingly hopes to mirror that strengthening.
Putin claimed that Russian companies will not block off their oil wells despite the West's easing their dependence on energy supplies from Moscow.
Putin said the West will not be able to completely stop using Russian energy resources over the next few years.
"As far as a refusal from our energy resources is concerned, this is unlikely for the next few years, while it's not clear, what will happen during those few years. That's why no one will pour cement into the wells."
Putin said the sanctions had led to a decrease in oil supply to global markets, while prices were rising: "The earnings of (Russian) companies are rising in money terms. Everybody sees it, everybody understands it."
