Skynews/ Vladimir Putin has appealed directly to Ukrainian troops and told them “it will be easier for us to agree if you take power in your own hands”.
During the address, the Russian president said it was “easier to negotiate with you” than the “gang of Nazis that has captured Kyiv” – an apparent reference to Ukraine’s leadership.
“I once again appeal to the military personnel of the armed forces of Ukraine: do not allow neo-Nazis and (Ukrainian radical nationalists) to use your children, wives and elders as human shields,” he said at a televised meeting with Russia’s security council.
“Take power into your own hands, it will be easier for us to reach agreement.”
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Mr Putin went on to say Russian servicemen in Ukraine were acting “bravely, professionally and heroically”.
He claimed most Ukrainian military units were reluctant to engage the Russian forces.
Those unit offering resistance are mostly volunteer battalions made of right-wing Ukrainian nationalists, he claimed.