Putin: Crimea annexed to save it from ‘nationalists’ steamroller’
The Russian President said it presenting the film ‘Crimea. Coming Back’ on Russia-1.
The TV channel Rususia-1 has shown the trailer of Crimea. Coming Back. The Russian President joined the announcement. The annexation of Crimea was planned on the night of February 23, 2014 when a rescue operation aimed at saving Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovich was conducted, Vladimir Putin said.
Putin told his colleagues back then: “The situation in Ukraine makes us start working in order to return Crimea back to the Russian Federation. We cannot leave the territory and its inhabitants behind and let nationalists steamroller them.”
However, the annexation of Crimea was not the Russian government’s goal, he said. Crimeans could vote for staying in Ukraine, Putin claimed. “We couldn’t leave them alone if they wanted to join us. We know the referendum results and we did what we had to,” Interfax quotes Putin’s words from the film.
Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted the activity of Russian troops in Crimea before and after the so-called referendum after the annexation of Crimea although he used to refute it. Russian troops helped Crimeans reach self-determination, he said.
Photo: runews24.ru
