Putin: Russia not sending troops to Ukraine unless as ‘last resort’
Russia reserves right to use ‘all means’ to protect citizens in Ukraine, says Russian President
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 04 March, 2014, 6:57pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 04 March, 2014, 7:33pm
Agence France-Presse in Moscow
Putin answers journalists' questions on the current situation around Ukraine in a live broadcast. Photo: AP
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday there had been an "unconsitutional coup" in Ukraine and ousted leader Viktor Yanukovych was still the legimate leader of the country despite giving up all power.
The former KGB spy also told reporters there was no need to use force in Ukraine’s southern Crimea region at the moment, but Russia reserved the right to do so as a "last resort".
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Russia has no need yet to send troops into Ukraine but reserves the right to use “all means” to protect citizens should the necessity arise, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.
“We reserve the right to use all means to protect” Russian and Ukrainian citizens in Ukraine, Putin said in comments live on state television, adding there was currently “no need” to send troops into the country.
Putin on Tuesday also denied that Russian forces were operating in Crimea, saying that only “local forces of self-defence” were surrounding Ukrainian military bases in the region.
Asked if Russian forces took part in operations in Crimea he said, “No, they did not participate,” adding: “There are lots of uniforms that look similar.”
The Russian president also admitted that deposed Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych had no political future but asserted he was legally still head of state.
“I think that he has no political future. And I told him this,” Putin said in comments broadcast on state television, adding that Russia had offered sanctuary to Yanukovych for humanitarian reasons. He said earlier that Yanukovych was, however, still the “sole legitimate president of Ukraine”.
Earlier on Tuesday, Putin told troops to return to their permanent bases after calling a snap drill to check their battle-readiness last week.
“The commander-in-chief President Vladimir Putin gave the order to the troops and units taking part in military exercises to return to their permanent bases,” a statement on the Kremlin website said.
Putin on February 26 ordered snap combat readiness drills involving thousands of troops, in what was ostensibly a routine exercise unconnected to the situation in Ukraine.
The unidentified armed forces backing the breakaway movement in Crimea have not been acknowledged by Russia as its troops, although Ukrainian officials say that they are clearly Russian soldiers.
The drill involved army, navy and airforce troops based in the central and western military districts, a vast territory that includes regions bordering Ukraine but also extending to the Arctic.
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Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu had said that the drill would include military exercises “on Russia’s borders with other countries, including Ukraine”.
The drill did not include any regions beyond Russia’s borders such as Crimea, the Ukrainian Black Sea region which has become a flashpoint in the standoff between Moscow and Ukraine’s new authorities after the ousting of president Viktor Yanukovych.
The exercises were “no more than polishing battle skills,” a source in Russia’s armed forces Joint Staff told Kommersant business daily.
Putin watched exercises with tanks, helicopters and around 1,800 troops in the Leningrad region on Monday.
Shoigu said on Tuesday that the drill had revealed “significant improvements” and ordered the troops to be back at their bases by Friday as planned, cited by the RIA Novosti news agency.
The drill, which was initially announced to finish on Monday, came shortly before Russian security forces began operating covertly in Crimea and Putin gained permission from senators for military intervention on Saturday.
The announcement of the end of the drill was widely interpreted as a positive signal as Russia teeters on the brink of war in Ukraine.
Respected business daily Vedomosti linked it to a rise in the falling ruble’s value on Tuesday morning, saying that the ruble “was up on the announcements of the return of Russian troops to their bases.”
Fears of a prolonged military campaign in Ukraine led to a stock market collapse and the ruble plunging in value to record levels against the dollar and euro on Monday.
