Russia not fighting the Ukrainian people – security chief

The turmoil in Ukraine has been orchestrated by Washington to create a rift between Russians and Ukrainians, who are effectively a single people, the secretary of Russia’s national Security Council Nikolay Patrushev believes.

The senior official, who previously served as director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) for over a decade, made the remarks in an interview with newspaper Argumenty i Fakty published Monday.

“We are not at war with Ukraine, because by definition we cannot hate ordinary Ukrainians. Ukrainian traditions are close to the people of Russia, just as the heritage of the Russian people is inseparable from the culture of Ukrainians,” Patrushev pointed out.