Putin has been plotting to grab land from Ukraine since the 1990s

Translating from the Dialog, Aug 1:

"Putin's plans to seize Ukraine and Kazakhstan surfaced in the archives of the German Foreign Ministry from the 1990s

The current President of the Russian Federation, dictator Vladimir Putin, mentioned the need for "reunification" with certain regions of Ukraine and Kazakhstan back in 1994

Der Spiegel published sensational data from the archives of the German Foreign Ministry, indicating that Vladimir Putin had ambitions to seize its territories long before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

As it turned out, back in January 1994, being a high-ranking official in St. Petersburg, he openly declared his imperial claims.

The German Consul General, who was working in Russia at the time, spoke about this. According to his recollections, at a meeting on January 14, 1994, Putin categorically emphasized: Crimea, the eastern regions of Ukraine, as well as the North of Kazakhstan are, in his opinion, not foreign territories, but "primordially Russian lands." He emphasized that these regions "have never been alien" to Russia.

Moreover, the diplomat recorded another key quote from Putin: "It is impossible to explain to any Russian that this is now a foreign country."

This phrase clearly demonstrates that the ideological basis for subsequent aggression against Ukraine, as well as possible plans for conquest in relation to other neighbors, was laid in advance."

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Ukrainian journalist Vitaly Portnikov also remembers such aspirations of Putin from the same time - translating from his article in the Obozrevatel:

"Putin has always dreamed of occupying Ukraine and will not back down from it under any circumstances 

Russian News / Opinions, 08/03/2025 

When I tell my colleagues in my memoirs about the first years of Ukraine's independence how I went to St. Petersburg to interview the mayor of that city, Anatoly Sobchak, and how the interview was interrupted by his deputy, Vladimir Putin, who wanted to discuss some urgent matters with his boss, but Sobchak managed to tell me that Ukraine could remain within its territorial borders only if it maintained partnership relations with Russia - and the vice-mayor, who was present, whom I saw for the first and last time until the moment when he became one of the top leaders of Russia, nodded his head affirmatively - many may consider this a legend or an attempt to transfer my modern experience to the events of thirty years ago. Well, Putin could not have dreamed of occupying Ukrainian lands thirty years ago, when no one could even imagine his political career!..."