Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni now says the country failed to take sides in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war because their views are private.
Speaking during his start-of-the-year address on December 31, Museveni said they chose to avoid taking sides in the conflict.
"Consequently, we have avoided negotiating with friendly Russia for cheaper oil because we are also friends with the USA and all the Western countries," Museveni said.
The President said Uganda is intensifying diplomatic ties quietly to resolve the issue.
"In the meantime, we are handling the part of the problem that is easy for us to handle –the shortages," he said.
Ukrainian officials recently claimed that Russia could be planning a new offensive from Belarus, but Western governments say they have seen no evidence of that.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said most regions were without power in freezing conditions following a huge wave of Russian missile attacks.
Moscow fired scores of missiles at cities across Ukraine on Thursday, including in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv and Odesa.
Zelensky warned that Moscow "is only driving itself deeper into a dead end".
"The status of the largest terrorist in the world will have consequences for Russia and its citizens for a long time. And each missile only confirms that all this must end with a tribunal. This is exactly what will happen," he said.
