Putin pushes council to prevent revolutions
DONETSK, Ukraine — Vladimir Putin told Russian security chiefs Thursday to do everything necessary to prevent “colour revolutions” from reaching Russia, amid a UN announcement nearly 1,000 people have died in Ukraine since the September truce.
Russian officials also accused the United States of destabilizing the situation in Ukraine by considering supplying Kyiv with weapons.
“In the modern world, extremism is being used as a geopolitical instrument and for remaking spheres of influence,” Putin said at a meeting of Russia’s security council. “We see what tragic consequences the wave of so-called colour revolutions led to,” referring to the Rose Revolution in Georgia and the Orange Revolution in Ukraine that ushered in Western-leaning governments a decade ago.
“For us this is a lesson and a warning. We should do everything necessary so that nothing similar ever happens in Russia.”
A similar revolution overthrew Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russian president of Ukraine, in February.
The Kremlin described it as a Western-backed coup and responded by annexing the Ukrainian region of Crimea and backing a secessionist uprising in the east of Ukraine. The resulting war has killed more than 4,300 people and plunged relations between Russia and the West to its lowest point since the end of the Cold War more than 20 years ago. The United Nations said nearly 1,000 people have been killed since a ceasefire came into effect in September, equivalent to 13 people a day.
“Civilians, including women, children, minorities and a range of vulnerable individuals and groups continue to suffer the consequences of the political stalemate,” said Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the UN high commissioner for human rights.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk pushed Thursday for military aid, a day after Tony Blinken, the deputy U.S. national security adviser, said strengthening Ukraine’s forces is “something we should be looking at.” Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Putin’s security council, responded with a warning.
“The United States is one of the initiators of the conflict on the territory of Ukraine and if they sell weapons the conflict will escalate,” he said.
— With files from The Associated Press