Bolsonaro Calls Putin One of "Most Powerful” People in World

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin one of the most powerful people in the world, RIA Novosti reported Wednesday.

"A few weeks ago, I met with one of the most powerful people in the world. Now he is in conflict with a neighboring country. We talked for almost three hours," Bolsonaro said, according to Estado de Minas.

On February 24, Russian troops invaded Ukraine and crossed its borders into the eastern cities of Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Luhansk despite international calls for a peaceful resolution of the crisis.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed that the special operation is called to prevent a global confrontation and put an end to hostilities in Donbass.

“This is not a beginning of war. It prevents a global military confrontation and puts an end to the war that has been underway [in Donbass],” Zakharova said.

On his part, Putin stated that he had made a decision to conduct a special military operation in response to a request from the leaders of the Donbass republics.

However, he stressed that Moscow’s plans does not include occupation of Ukrainian territories.