MOSCOW, October 27. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin partially agreed at a plenary session of the Valdai International Discussion Club on Thursday that the country’s special military operation could be viewed as a civil war, given the unity of the Russian and Ukrainian people.

The forum’s moderator asked him to specify if the special military operation could be viewed as "a civil war." "It could, to a certain extent, though we ended up in different countries, unfortunately, for a number of reasons," the president said.

Putin pointed out that attempts to divide the single nation began in the 19th century, which was largely supported, primarily by the West. Later, in the president’s words, this division led to cooperation with Hitler, "when Ukrainian collaborators were engaged in operations to kill Russians, Poles, Jews and Belarusians." "It is all part of our history. But it is a historical fact that Russians and Ukrainians are actually one people," Putin concluded.