Russian President Vladimir Putin talks about the crisis in Ukraine and says that the Kiev authorities are conducting a punitive operation in the south-east of the country at his annual press conference, which was held at the World Trade Center. The political crisis in Ukraine has been continuing since November 2013, when Viktor Yanukovych refused to sign an association agreement with the European Union. After the change of power in the country, Crimea joined the Russian Federation, and the Donetsk and Lugansk regions declared themselves independent republics. In April 2014 a military operation against the militias began in the east of the country. It continues to this day.
