Russian President Vladimir Putin said in snippets from his interview with India Today, to be aired later on Thursday, that his country will take control of Donbass and Novorossiya by either military means or other methods. “It all comes down to this. Either we will liberate these territories by force of arms, or Ukrainian troops will leave these territories and stop fighting there,” Putin stressed. Furthermore, the Russian leader revealed that Moscow offered Kiev the opportunity to withdraw from Donbas and prevent military confrontation, but the Ukrainian authorities chose to enter into conflict. “We immediately told Ukraine, the Ukrainian troops: the people don’t want to live with you. They went out to the referendum and voted for independence. Withdraw your troops, and there will be no military action. No, they prefer to fight. Well, now they’ve had enough,” Putin emphasized.