They are constantly trying to drive us into a corner because we have an independent position, because we maintain it and because we tell it like it is and don't engage in hypocrisy. But there is a limit to everything. And with Ukraine, our Western partners have crossed the line, playing the bear and acting irresponsibly and unprofessionally.
— Vladimir Putin
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Colossal Ukraine quotations
Huge events like the Ukraine famine of 1933, involving the deaths of millions of people, have actually escaped the attention of the majority of English russophiles.
Farmers present by themselves the basic force of the national movement.
Without farmers there can be no strong national movement. This is what we mean when we say that the nationalist question, is actually, the farmers' question.
- Oh no, The Collective Farm policy was a terrible struggle.
.. Ten million (he said holding up his hands). It was fearful. Four years it lasted. It was absolutely necessary.
Ukraine has been a strong partner to the United States on international initiatives and a committed ally in fighting the War on Terrorism.
Ukraine is a vital link for Europe: our energy transportation networks;
our location between the European Union and Eurasia. We're the melting pot of Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity. The democracy we founded with the Orange Revolution has to be an example for other post-Soviet states.
Ukraine had quite serious impact on the many Russians.
They could see that ordinary people in Ukraine which is a bordering state, very close to Russia, the people of this state are, they didn't want to tolerate anymore the power abuse by Ukrainian officials.
...Have the stresses of war been as bad to you personally as carrying through the policy of Collective Farms?
Ukraine announced plans to open Chernobyl, their nuclear disaster site, to tourists. They say it's just like Disneyland, except the 6-foot mouse is real.
At this point the question of Ukraine is the most important.
The situation in Ukraine is very bad. If we don't take steps now to improve the situation, we may lose Ukraine. The objective should be to transform Ukraine , in the shortest period of time, into a real fortress of the U.S.S.R.
Russia can be either an empire or a democracy, but it cannot be both.
. . . Without Ukraine, Russia ceases to be an empire, but with Ukraine suborned and then subordinated, Russia automatically becomes an empire.
The crisis in Ukraine is all the European Union's fault.
Its leaders negotiated a trade deal with Ukraine, which essentially blackmailed the country to choose between Europe and Russia.
However, if Moscow regains control over Ukraine, with its 52 million people and major resources as well as access to the Black Sea, Russia automatically again regains the wherewithal to become a powerful imperial state, spanning Europe and Asia.
The key point to bear in mind is that Russia cannot be in Europe without Ukraine also being in Europe, whereas Ukraine can be in Europe without Russia being in Europe.
Ukraine, a new and important space on the Eurasian chessboard, is a geopolitical pivot because its very existence as an independent country helps to transform Russia. Without Ukraine, Russia ceases to be a Eurasian empire.
The G7 and former G8 group has always viewed itself as a community of values, the annexation of Crimea, which is a blatant violation of the principles of international law, and the events in eastern Ukraine are serious violations of these common values.
Putin never wanted all of Ukraine. He wanted for historical purposes to take Crimea. He did. Then he wanted a part of Ukraine that he could always use to advance Russian interests. And he is now at a point where nobody in the West is shouting, hey, stop. Give us back Crimea. It's all accepted. And so he has won.
Anything that is missing in the implementation of the Minsk Agreement is - without any exception - up to the Kiev central government of Ukraine. You cannot demand something of Moscow that, in fact, the rulers in Kiev have to deliver. The most important aspect is the constitutional reform, Point 11 of the Minsk Agreement.
The West appears to have decided for the Ukrainian people what their choice is.
The EU does not condemn violent actions in Ukraine which are punishable in the West.
I think Putin wants to recreate as much of the Soviet Union as he can through a variety of different means. He's invaded parts of Georgia, took Crimea, southeastern Ukraine, bases in other countries.
The Orange Revolution was a powerful example of democracy around the world.
The people of Ukraine are continuing to shape their own future.
I'm afraid Putin will kill me. I believe that he was the one who unleashed the war in Ukraine. I couldn't dislike him more.
Russia had to take the necessary measures in order to prevent the situation in Crimea unfolding the way it is now unfolding in southeastern Ukraine. We didn't want any tanks, any nationalist combat units or people with extreme views armed with automatic weapons.
I know the Russian political elite has got used to the Ukraine suffering from an inferiority complex, but I want this to disappear from our relationship.
Ukraine must once again be revered and respected by its citizens as well as the East and the West.
The demonstrators in Ukraine will persevere and succeed, or grow tired, cold and fade.
First, the constitution [of Ukraine] has to be reformed.
Only then can confidence building and border security follow.
There are no Russian units in eastern Ukraine - no special services, no tactical advisors. All this is being done by the local residents, and the proof of that is the fact that those people have literally removed their masks.
We must improve our lives and we will do it together - all of our citizens and myself as president of Ukraine.
I do not support Putin against Europe.
This is a caricature. I support a federalist Ukraine. The EU poured fuel on the fire by proposing an economic partnership to a country known to look half to the East and half to the West.
The constitutional reform is supposed to give autonomy to eastern Ukraine and to be adopted by the end of 2015. This has not happened, and the year is over. That's not Russia's fault.
Ukraine is a tinderbox, and the fuse is lit. There is no solution through violence in Ukraine.
Well, we have got to understand, for example, Russia is an orthodox Christian nation. So is Ukraine. That happened in 988 in Crimea, a place called Kievan Rus, which was the Russia around Kiev at that time. It's 1,000 years ago, but, to a Russian, it's yesterday.
It will be very important for us to continue to keep up the necessary pressure, the necessary vigilance, for there to be peace in Ukraine, our trust in the goodwill of President (Vladimir) Putin is limited. It is why we have to maintain our decision about sanctions.