Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised New Year’s address on Wednesday that the “return home” of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula to Moscow’s control would forever remain an important chapter in Russia’s history.
Putin is facing the biggest challenge of his 15-year rule as the Russian economy is sliding sharply into recession, hurt by Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis and falling prices for oil, Russia’s chief export.
His comments are likely to strike a chord in a country where many people have always viewed Crimea as part of their homeland because of centuries of shared history and the region’s mainly ethnic …read more
Source: Voice of America
