By criticizing Ukraine for trying to become an “antipode of Russia” President Vladimir Putin demonstrates a lack of understanding of Ukraine, the country’s Foreign Ministry said on May 15.
Oleh Nykolenko, the spokesperson for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, told the Ukrinform news agency that Putin’s words demonstrate that he has trouble understanding that Ukraine is an independent state on its own path.
“Ukrainians, as a sovereign nation, independently determine the vector of their development without involvement of third parties. Neither Russian tanks nor the spreaders of toxic ideas of the ‘Russian world’ can stop the transformation of Ukraine into a modern European democratic state,” Nykolenko said.
The statement was a reaction to the address Putin made the day before during a meeting with members of the Russian Security Council.
Viktor Medvedchuk, a Ukrainian lawmaker and Putin’s unofficial representative in Ukraine, had been charged with treason and placed on house arrest on May 13. Commenting on that, Putin said that the Ukrainian leadership was “wiping out political opposition” and “persecuting everyone who has business in Russia” — which isn’t true.
Putin also called Ukraine a constant threat to Russia’s security.
“Ukraine is slowly but surely being turned into some kind of an antipode of Russia, into an ‘anti-Russia,’ into a place from which we will constantly, apparently, receive news that needs our special attention in terms of ensuring the security of the Russian Federation,” Putin said.
