‘It is known that those traitors have the same poison of contempt for their own homeland and the desire to make money by selling this poison to those who are willing to pay for it,’ Putin said during his annual message to the Federal Assembly (Parliament) on Tuesday.

The head of State noted that the West accelerated the so-called ‘anti-Russia’ project in Ukraine by supporting the coup in that country in 2014, an action he called bloody, anti-state, anti-constitutional, and not only supported it, but has reported how much money was spent on it.

‘They put Russophobia and extremely aggressive nationalism as an ideological basis,’ the Russian president assured, and reminded that the efforts to turn Ukraine into ‘anti-Russia’ are not new.

‘People who are at least a little immersed in history know very well that this project has its roots in the 19th century.

It was nurtured in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in Poland and in other countries with one goal: to separate the historic territories that today are called Ukraine from our country,’ he added.

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