During the two hour interview, Putin repeated claims that his invasion of Ukraine, which Kyiv and its allies described as an unprovoked act of aggression, was necessary to protect Russian speakers in Ukraine and prevent the country from posing a threat to Russia by joining NATO. It was Putin's first interview with a Western media figure since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago. Two journalists working for US news organizations, The Wall Street Journal's Evan Gershkovich and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Alsu Kurmasheva — are currently in Russian jail on espionage charges. Putin suggested to Carlson that a trade might be possible for a Russian intelligence operative convicted for the 2019 murder of a Chechen dissident in Berlin.
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