MOSCOW, February 27. /TASS/. MOSCOW, February 27. /TASS/. Denis Pushilin, the interim head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, on Monday said Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s statement that Kiev was preparing military efforts to capture Crimea is nothing but a publicity stunt.
"It’s more like a PR stunt. It’s more like an effort to <...> raise the morale of Ukraine’s armed formations. Maybe, [the statement is meant] for the radical portion of society. It’s unlikely to result in any real actions," he said on Rossiya-24 television.
He said Kiev wouldn’t have the potential to pull off anything like that.
"That they are trying to identify some goals, paths is nothing but a publicity stunt. That’s how I see it," Pushilin said.
Zelensky said at a news conference on February 24 that Kiev is preparing to take military steps to capture Crimea. For example, the Ukrainian president said, some brigades were being assembled and equipped for the offensive.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that the return of Crimea to Ukraine was impossible as the peninsula is an integral part of Russia.
After the February 2014 coup in Ukraine, the Crimean authorities held a referendum on reuniting with Russia. Most voters supported the idea (96.7% in Crimea and 95.6% in the city of Sevastopol), with turnout reaching 80%. In March 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty on Crimea’s reunification with Russia on March 18, 2014, which was ratified by the Federal Assembly on March 21, 2014. Despite the convincing outcome of the referendum, Kiev refused to recognize Crimea as part of Russia.