"It is no coincidence I have mentioned our US friends, as they directly or from behind the scenes always affect our relations with neighbors; sometimes it is unclear whom to talk to: to the authorities of the country or directly to their US patrons," Putin said during annual address to Russian Federal Assembly.
In late November 2013, a political crisis erupted in Ukraine when the Cabinet of Ministers announced that the country's European integration had been put on hold. Mass protests, dubbed Euromaidan, swept Ukraine, with radical elements clashing with police in January and February 2014.
On April 13, Kiev launched a military operation to suppress independence supporters in the region.
Since the beginning of the Ukrainian conflict, the United States has been voicing support to the new Kiev government, accusing Russia of providing military assistance to independence supporters and even sending its troops to the southeast of Ukraine, a claim that Moscow has repeatedly denied.
