Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is driven by historical ambition rather than strategic or political calculation, describing the war in Ukraine as a pursuit of personal legacy.

Speaking to France 24, Kuleba drew a parallel between Putin and Russia's imperial past, referencing the Bronze Horseman — the iconic equestrian statue in St Petersburg's Senate Square, commissioned by Catherine the Great in honor of Peter the Great, the city's founder.

The statue's pedestal carries a simple dedication: "To Peter the First, Catherine the Second, 1782."

Kuleba suggested the comparison raises a pointed question about Putin's motivations — whether the Russian president sees himself as a third great ruler in that imperial lineage, a "Vladimir the Great," and whether that ambition for historical greatness is the true driving force behind the invasion of Ukraine.

"Putin only cares about what will be written about him in history books," Kuleba said.