“Russian and Ukrainian peoples never quarreled. And now, in my deepest conviction, they are not in a quarrel. We have a lack of understanding only with the leadership of today's Ukraine, with whom we can hardly cook porridge and achieve some positive result in the development of our relations, ”he said.
As the head of state noted, what the Kiev authorities are doing is “sometimes just aroused and bewildered.”
“I just want to ask in Ukrainian:“ Behind the back door, who is it? ”Has he lost his mind?” He asked.
He also noted that Russia will be ready to improve relations with Ukraine when “common sense prevails” there.
Later, at a concert in honor of the fifth anniversary of the reunification of Crimea with Russia, Putin compared the Crimean people to the Red Army soldiers.
At the end of 2018, Putin also stated that the situation in the Russian-Ukrainian relations would not change as long as Russophobes are in power in Kiev.