You're reading: Putin: Forces that took power in Ukraine are responsible for destroying unity of the country

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the people who are now in power in Ukraine have scarified the unity of Ukraine for their political ambitions.

“I am talking to the people of Ukraine. I sincerely want you to understand us: we don’t want to harm you or insult your national feelings,” Putin said in his address to the Federal Assembly in the Kremlin on Tuesday.

“We have always respected the territorial integrity of Ukraine, unlike those who have sacrificed the unity of Ukraine for their political ambitions,” Putin said.

“They are now boasting their slogans on the great Ukraine, but it’s them who did everything to divide the country,” Putin said.

“The current civil conflict is wholly their doing,” Putin said.