Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed on June 20 that the West is trying to push Russia toward a strategic defeat on Ukrainian battlefields, which would, according to him, mean the end of the Russian statehood. “For Russia, this means the end of its statehood… This means the end of the thousand-year history of the Russian state. I think this is clear to everyone,” Putin said at a press conference at the end of his state visit to Vietnam. “Then the question arises: why should we be afraid? Isn’t it better to go to the end?” The Kremlin chief claimed that Moscow is ready for negotiations bu…