Putin compares war in Ukraine with Gaza, says "nothing of the kind" happening in Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin has sought to distinguish between the war in Ukraine and Israel's war on Hamas, saying the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza has had a much greater toll on civilians.
“Look at the special military operation and at what is happening in Gaza. And feel the difference. Well, there is nothing of the kind in Ukraine,” Putin said on Thursday during his annual end of year press conference.
Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russia still occupies nearly a fifth of Ukraine and front lines are static for the most part while both sides continue to churn through soldiers. The UN says more than 10,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed.
Despite Russia's actions in Ukraine it has joined international calls for ceasefire in Gaza.
In his conference, Putin said he was in contact with Egypt regarding the crisis in Gaza. He mentioned discussing the possibility of opening a Russian hospital to aid Palestinian civilians with the leaders of Egypt and Israel. However, Putin emphasized that, for the time being, it is deemed unsafe to proceed with such an initiative.
"The Emirati side created a field hospital there in Gaza ... and we talked about the fact that Russia could also open a hospital there at the stadium. But for this, of course, we need the consent of both Egypt and Israel," Putin said.
Putin also announced that Russia is set to increase the supply of equipment and medicine to the Gaza Strip at the request of Israel. He is in constant contact with Turkish President Erdogan on the war in Gaza, noting that their views of the war are “similar.”
CNN's Svitlana Vlasova, Yulia Kesaieva, Victoria Butenko, Abbas Al Lawati, Mohammed Abdelbary and Rob Picheta contributed reporting.
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