Putin Reiterates Need for 'Root Causes' to be Addressed for Ukraine Peace

From the outset of the conflict, Russia has stated that advancement of NATO into Ukraine was a primary driver of the fighting. As such, Russia views discussions to deploy troops from NATO countries in Ukraine as part of security guarantees negatively as this would only exacerbate the problem, rather than deal with the root causes.

For months, Russia has brought up "root causes" as a go-to talking point. But this is a red herring that ignores Russia's aggression and is simply a cover for its desire to turn Ukraine into a subservient vassal state with a puppet government that does its bidding, disregarding Ukraine's sovereignty.