Putin compares Ukraine invasion to Peter the Great's conquests

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday compared Ukraine invasion to Peter the Great's conquests

Peter I, or Peter the Great reigned first as tsar and then as emperor from 1682 until his death in 1725. His conquest of the Baltic coast from Sweden made Russia an important player in European affairs.

Putin was visiting an exhibition in Moscow dedicated to the 350th birthday of tsar. After the the visit, Putin told a group of young entrepreneurs that "you get the impression that by fighting Sweden he was grabbing something. He wasn't taking anything, he was taking it back".

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"It is our responsibility also to take back and strengthen," Putin said, in an apparent reference to Russia's offensive in Ukraine.

Ukraine was part of the erstwhile Soviet Union. Russia began invading the country on February 24 this year.

When Peter the Great founded Saint Petersburg and declared it the Russian capital "none of the countries in Europe recognised this territory as belonging to Russia," Putin said.

"Everyone considered it to be part of Sweden. But from time immemorial, Slavs had lived there alongside Finno-Ugric peoples," the Russian leader added.

Russia is currently facing isolation globally with major western countries have imposed sanctions on it following Ukraine invasion.

(With inputs from agencies)

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