MOSCOW, December 21. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin insists that he still views the Ukrainian people as a fraternal nation.

"We have nothing to be rebuked for. I am saying this quite responsibly. We have always - and you know my position - considered the Ukrainian people to be a brotherly nation. I still think so," he stressed at an expanded board session of the Defense Ministry on Wednesday.

The Russian leader pointed out that Moscow has been trying for years to build relations with Kiev under new geopolitical conditions. "We did everything to build not just good-neighborly, but fraternal relations under the new conditions. We had been providing loans and supplying energy resources almost free of charge. For years! But no, nothing worked," the head of the Russian state insisted.

He reiterated that when Ukraine left the Soviet Union, its declaration of independence proclaimed that it was a neutral state. "I think that Russian leaders at the time also had that in mind. I am confident that it was precisely like this. So, on the whole, it is possible to understand the leadership at the time - under the conditions of that time they probably did not see any threats. A neutral state, a fraternal people, a single culture, shared spiritual and moral values, and a shared history. They did not see any threats. But no, the adversary was working very insistently, and, to their credit, effectively," the Russian president acknowledged.

That said, Putin added, Russia’s actions on building good relations with Ukraine failed to materialize.