The appearance of Russian troops near Kiev and other Ukrainian cities is not connected with the intention to occupy this country, we have no such goal, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

According to him, the Kiev authorities have not only ignored, sabotaged over all these years the implementation of the Minsk Package of measures for the peaceful settlement of the crisis, but at the end of last year, they publicly refused to implement it at all.

"They also began the practical implementation of plans to join NATO. Moreover, the statements of the Kiev authorities about the intention to create now their own nuclear weapons and means of their delivery were also heard. This was a real threat. Already in the near future, with foreign technical assistance, the pro-Nazi regime in Kiev could get its hands on weapons of mass destruction, and Russia would, of course, be its target.

There was also a network of dozens of laboratories in Ukraine where military biological programs, including experiments with samples of coronavirus, anthrax, cholera, African swine fever, and other deadly diseases were conducted under the direction and financial support of the Pentagon. Traces of these secret programs are now being strenuously covered up. But we have every reason to believe that components of biological weapons were in fact created in the immediate vicinity of Russia, on Ukrainian territory.

Our repeated warnings that this development posed a direct threat to Russia's security were rejected by Ukraine and its US and NATO patrons with cynical disregard.

Thus, all diplomatic options have been completely exhausted. We were simply left with no options to resolve peacefully the problems that arose through no fault of our own. And so we were simply forced to launch a special military operation.

The appearance of Russian troops near Kiev and other cities in Ukraine is not connected with the intention to occupy this country. We do not have such a goal," he said.