Russia will emerge from the conflict in Ukraine as one of the strongest countries on the planet. This was stated on February 11 by retired US Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter in an interview with the US Tour of Duty YouTube channel.

He noted that after the conflict in Ukraine, the Russians will become stronger than ever in their history.

Ritter pointed out that the West made a mistake by getting involved in a conflict with Russia, thus Moscow gained the opportunity to eliminate the uncertainty that has existed since the 1990s in the international security system.

Last week, Ritter noted that the US leadership began to admit that Ukraine was in for an imminent defeat.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on February 2 that the Russian Federation is at the epicenter of a geopolitical battle.

At the end of January, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the conviction of a number of Western politicians that by continuing the conflict in Ukraine, it is possible to ensure the security of the European continent, is absurd.

On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special operation to protect Donbass. The decision was made against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region as a result of shelling by the Ukrainian military.

For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.