MOSCOW, July 12. /TASS/. The representatives of Ukrainian elites justified the independence of their country through rejection of the past and rewriting history, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in the article "On the historic unity of Russians and Ukrainians," published on the Kremlin’s website on Monday.
"The Ukrainian elites decided to justify the independence of their country though rejection of its past - with the exception of the border issue. They started mythologizing and rewriting its history, deleting everything that unites us, and talking about Ukraine’s existence within the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union as an occupation. They represent our common tragedy of the collectivization, the famine of early 1930s as the genocide of the Ukrainian people," Russian President said.
Putin noted that, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, many people in Russia and Ukraine believes that the close cultural, spiritual and economic ties will remain, as well as the unity of the people. However, the events unfolded in a different direction, the head of state concluded.
Putin announced his intention to write an article on the history of the Russian people and its ties with Ukraine during the June 30 Direct Line. He expressed his hope that residents of both countries would read it.