MOSCOW, October 1. /TASS/. Russian forces have always followed humanitarian norms and have never been the first to attack non-military facilities, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a plenary session of the 23rd annual meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club.

"There can be no illusion and wars have always been over the entire history of humankind, they take place and, most likely, armed conflicts will occur. This is, unfortunately, an inseparable part of the existence of humankind. Military service is the profession of people who defend the interests of their countries but professionalism in the military sphere is also the observance of humanitarian norms," the Russian leader stressed.

As the head of state pointed out, the Russian Armed Forces have always followed the principle of the inviolability of these norms.

"I want to stress this. They [Russian forces] have never been the first to attack the facilities that have no direct relation to enemy military infrastructure," Putin emphasized.