​A year after referendum, Putin talks about Yanukovych rescue, nuclear readiness over Crimea

Putin stressed that he had have never thought about annexation before the revolution in Kyiv, but got the nuclear weapons ready “in case of danger.”

There were many revelations in the three-hour documentary, called “Crimea: Path to the Motherland,” and devoted to the anniversary of the illegal referendum that took place on March 16, 2014.

The film, complete with Hollywood-style special effects the thrilling tricks, Putin talks about his desire to protect the Russian citizens from “the nationalists” and armed groups that took power in Kyiv last February and overthrew former President Viktor Yanukovych who had to find shelter in Russia.

The documentary, based on a number of interviews with Russian and Crimean officials and local citizens, attempted ti reconstruct many events, and featured some videos filmed during the EuroMaidan Revolution and a standoff in Crimean Simferopol, when the Crimean Tatars and pro-Ukrainian activists tried to storm a government building on Feb. 26 that had already been seized by Russian military forces without insignia.

Once again, Putin confirmed the country’s soldiers involved in the takeover of Crimea. In a documentary, Putin said that the Russian troops controlled by Russian General Staff had been deployed to Crimea to disarm the Ukrainian servicemen. Initially Putin denied the presence of any Russian soldiers in Crimea.

Putin seems convinced that the U.S. and the European Union carried out an “armed coup” in Ukraine last year that forced former President Viktor Yanukovych look for shelter in Russia. “Formally, the opposition was primarily supported by the Europeans, but we knew very well that our American partners and friends were the real puppeteers,” Putin says. “It was they who helped to prepare nationalists combat troops.”

Putin recalls that Yankovych tried to contact him several times during the protests in Kyiv before his final decision to flee the capital. The Russian president claims he spent all night on Feb. 22, 2014 trying to rescue Yanukovych.
“I invited security officials including ones of the Ministry of Defense and told them that they need to save the life of Ukraine’s president – otherwise he would be overthrown,” Putin explained, adding that they were ready to save Yanukovych either by land, by sea or by air.

“We also found out that (someone) opened fire at his motorcade and the motorcade of Viktor Pshonka (former general prosecutor),” Putin said. He also admitted that his special services “tracked” Yanukovych’s moves using his phone, and warned his security that there might be an ambush.

The Kremlin ordered to send a helicopter with a group of special forces on board to get Yanukovych out of Donetsk and take him to the Russian city of Rostov. Putin explained that the operation was on the verge of collapse, because the crew couldn’t find Yanukovych’s motorcade.

“Finally they saw the beam headlights of his motorcade and Yanukovych was taken on board, but he refused to fly to Russia at once then,” Putin said, adding that the operation was finished at about 7 a.m. on the morning of Feb. 23, 2014.

“It was a good thing – we saved his life,” Putin said. The very same day Yanukovych was rescued, Kremlin decided that the Black Sea peninsula was in danger because of the “outbreak of the nationalism.” Once again, Putin failed to explain the connection between the fleeing president and his decision to annex Crimea, but referred to the so-called Korsun pogrom as justification of his actions.

What the Russian propaganda machine refers to as “the Korsun pogrom” allegedly took place on Feb. 20, 2014 close to the city of Korsun-Shevchenkivskiy in Cherkasy Oblast. A group of Crimean supporters of Yanukovych traveling by seven buses to Kyiv were allegedly stopped at a checkpoint by EuroMaidan activists and assaulted. According to the documentary, seven Crimean citizens were killed and 20 went missing as a result.

But the Ukrainian authorities dismiss the whole story as invention of the Russian propaganda. “Such events didn’t take place then,” Cherkasy region police spokesman Dmytro Hryshchenko said. “There was a checkpoint there and we also know about the burning of the two buses. But the information about the activists gone missing or killed is not true.”

Putin said it was a signal for the Kremlin to save Crimea from nationalists.

“The nationalists would have killed those people,” Putin said. “And Crimea is our historical territory. Russian people live there. We cannot abandon them.”

Putin is sure the Crimean takeover was successful, because he himself coordinated the operation. He also explained that everything that happened on the peninsula was “lawful.”

Putin claims that they ‘didn’t violate any laws’ as the terms of the Black Sea Fleet’s lease in Sevastopol allowed some 20,000 Russian troops to be stationed on the peninsula. Putin said that he had deployed additional troops to the peninsula before the referendum, but didn’t exceed the number.

Meanwhile, Russian soldiers helped the local self-defense units to seize the government buildings, the city of Simferopol and take over Ukrainian military bases.

“I also need to say that we monitored all the communications of the Ukrainian military then, so we knew what the situation was,” Putin adds. He also said that before the referendum took place, Ukraine heavily built up their forces on the border with the peninsula.

“They (Ukrainian army) had at least 18 ‘Buk’ missile system there,” Putin explained.

Putin is certain that the West’s attitude towards the Crimean referendum and the following annexation was “ambiguous” because Western leaders wanted to just brush the issue off their agendas. “But everyone should respect Russia and its interests,” Putin said.