Putin signed a decree, Russia recognized the independence of DPR and LPR - VIDEO

Putin signed a decree, Russia recognized the independence of DPR and LPR - VIDEO

"The situation in Donbas has become critical again and I am addressing you directly, not only to assess the situation, but also to inform the public about the decisions we have made and about possible further steps," he pointed out.

Putin began his speech with historical facts, saying that modern Ukraine was completely created by Russia, at the expense of the secession of part of Russia's historical territories without questions from Russian citizens.

He also said that Ukraine is not only a "neighboring country" for Russia, but also a part of its history in which its friends and close people live.

"We can still call Ukraine Vladimir Ilyich Lenin's Ukraine. Russia is ready to show Ukraine what true decommunization means," Russian President said.

President Putin stated that Ukraine is a Bolshevik creation. "We have to understand what is happening today and explain the goals that are in front of us, so it is important to explain the background. Ukraine has been a Russian creation from the beginning. Nobody even asked the Russians about it. At the dawn of World War II, Stalin annexed some parts and gave Ukraine historically German territory as compensation. Crimea was given to Ukraine for some reason and that's how it came to be," Putin reiterated.

Then Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine has never had its true statehood.

"The Ukrainian authorities, I want to emphasize this, started from the first steps by denying everything that became the basis of its statehood. By denying everything that united us. They tried to change the consciousness of citizens, the historical memory of millions of people living in Ukraine".

"Ukraine has never had its true statehood, it has just copied the model," he said. Corruption in Ukraine has destroyed Ukrainian statehood, which was used by nationalists in 2014 with the help of the West, Putin said in his almost marathon address to the nation.

Speaking about the debt that the Soviet Union had, Putin said that Russia repaid the entire debt on its own, including the Ukrainian one, although it was agreed that all republics would contribute to debt repayment in proportion to their economic potential.