Putin refers to Ukraine as 'part of Russian people' in new interview

In the so-called documentary film "Russia. Putin. 25 years," which will be fully released on the propaganda TV channel "Russia 1" on Sunday evening, May 4, 2025, the phrase "Ukrainian part of the Russian people" was used for the first time.
This was reported by the portal Vesti.ru, which is the information site of "Russia 1."

The main representative of the Kremlin press pool and co-author of the film, Pavel Zarubin, asks Vladimir Putin the question: "Is reconciliation with the Ukrainian part of the Russian people possible, in your opinion, in the future?"

In response, the Putin says: "It seems to me that this is inevitable. Despite all the tragedy we are experiencing now."

At the same time, according to other previews from the film, he avoids using the word "war," instead referring to the "special military operation," and "special operation." In particular, the hostilities and their consequences are referred to by Putin as "tragic events in the Ukrainian direction."

• In an interview with his sympathizer, American director Oliver Stone, the text of which was made public on the official Kremlin website in 2019, Putin referred to the city of Kyiv and the Kyiv region as "Russian."
• On February 24, 2022, Kyiv and its region became one of the primary directions of Russia's full-scale invasion. Russian paratroopers landed at the Hostomel and Vasylkiv airports and unsuccessfully tried to land large cargo planes with military equipment, which were supposed to move in columns to storm Kyiv.