Putin: Ukrainian nationalists were trained in Poland
PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge
16.03.2015 10:12
President of Russia Vladimir Putin reiterated claims that Ukrainians were trained in Poland in a documentary aired on Sunday to mark the first anniversary of the annexation of Crimea.
A file picture dated 18 March 2014 of Russian President Vladimir Putin (2-R) with Crimean leaders signing the act of reunification Crimea with Russia. Photo: EPA/ALEXEY DRUZHINYN
Interviewed for the three-hour documentary 'Crimea: Path to the Motherland,' Putin reflected on the protests in Kiev that led to the overthrow of President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014.
“The trick of the situation was that outwardly the [Ukrainian] opposition was supported mostly by the Europeans,'' the Russian leader said.
''But we knew for sure that the real masterminds were our American friends,'' he continued.
''They helped train the nationalists, their armed groups, in Western Ukraine, in Poland and to some extent in Lithuania,'' he claimed.
“They facilitated the armed coup.”
Poland denied training Ukrainians after Putin first made the claim in March 2014.
Nuclear risk
Meanwhile, Putin said in the interview that he had been considering putting Russia's nuclear forces on standby, so as to ensure the annexation of Crimea.
''We were ready to do it,'' he said.
Putin argued that ''this is our historical territory and Russian people live there, they were in danger, and we cannot abandon them."
In February 2014, when uniformed soldiers were seen at large in Crimea, Putin denied they were Russian troops and suggested that the uniforms had been bought ''in a shop''.
A disputed referendum was held on 16 March 2014, in which 95.7 percent of the population voted to join Russia.
The Russian leader has not been seen in public since 5 March, prompting various rumours about his health. (nh)