He explained that Ukraine has "deviated" from agreements and any possible prior progress reached during the Istanbul meetings, according to state-run RIA.

The strong remarks aimed at both Kiev and the West were given during a joint presser with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko. He further hailed that the military operations is still going "according to plan," Bloomberg reports, however while admitting to the domestic population that "Russian logistics and payment systems remain a weakness and the long-term impact of western measures could be more painful." But he also said the county has withstood the economic "blitzkrieg" from the West.

Putin described that what's happening in Ukraine is a "tragedy" but that ultimately Russia had "no choice" but to launch the special military operation.

As Piotr Zalewkski ofThe Economist comments, this is hardly surprising, but it makes Turkey look bad. Few put much faith that the talks would succeed, but still it's not a "good look for Turkey, which had been trumpeting progress where there was next to no progress to speak of."

Putin said that the West was seeking to turn Ukraine into an "anti-Russian foothold" which made... 

"Russia clashing with those forces was inevitable, and they were only choosing the time for an attack."