Vladimir Putin said Crimea is sacred for Russia and his country will always respect the people of fraternal Ukraine and its sovereignty.
“We have condemned the forcible seizure of power and murders in Odessa. What we are seeing now in Ukraine, the tragedy in the southeast, fully confirms that Russia’s regarding February events as coup d'etat is right. Some countries would like to see Russia dismantled in the same way as Yugoslavia. Separatism was supported from abroad.”