Putin acknowledges Crimea was seized by Russian servicemen

• 17.04.2014, 11:53

The Russian president said during a televised Q&A session the Russian armed forces had been active in Crimea.

“Russian troops backed the Crimean self-defence forces politely, but decisively and professionally,” Vladimir Putin said today.

It's worth noting that some minutes before, Putin said the statements about the presence of Russian troops in eastern Ukraine were “nonsense”. He said the same some weeks earlier commenting on the information about Russian servicemen in Crimea.

“It's nonsense. There are no Russian units in the east of Ukraine. It's the locals. The best proof is that people took their masks off,” Putin said.

Crimea was occupied by Russian troops in March. Vladimir Putin took a decision to annex the peninsula to the Russian Federation following the illegal “referendum”.

Photo: Reuters