- Title: Putin says Russia will respond to Ukraine's 'cleansing' of political space
- Date: 14th May 2021
- Summary: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (MAY 14, 2021) (RUSSIAN POOL) RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN TALKING TO MEMBERS OF RUSSIAN SECURITY COUNCIL VIA VIDEOLINK (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN PRESIDENT, VLADIMIR PUTIN, SAYING: "Apparently - and this is very sad - Ukraine is slowly but surely being turned into some kind of antipode of Russia, into some kind of anti-Russia, into some kind of platform. From their territory, we will apparently constantly receive news that demands our attention to ensure the safety of the Russian Federation." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN PRESIDENT, VLADIMIR PUTIN, SAYING: "There is an absolutely obvious cleansing of the political space going on there. National-level mass media are closed down - and nothing, our Western partners do not react to this in any way, if not support decisions of this kind." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN PRESIDENT, VLADIMIR PUTIN, SAYING: "This is certainly an issue that should always be in our attention, and we will have to respond to it in a timely and appropriate manner, bearing in mind the threats that are posed to us."
- Embargoed: 28th May 2021 13:26
- Keywords: Medvedchuk Putin Russia-Ukraine Ukraine political situation
- Location: MOSCOW, RUSSIA
- City: MOSCOW, RUSSIA
- Country: Russia
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Europe,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001ECXPMPZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia would respond to what he called Ukraine's 'cleansing' of the political space, a day after a Ukrainian court placed a prominent pro-Russian politician under house arrest.
The Ukrainian court put Viktor Medvedchuk, who promotes closer ties with Moscow and says Putin is godfather to his daughter, under house arrest in connection to allegations of treason he faces.
Medvedchuk, who says President Vladimir Putin is godfather to his daughter, is widely seen as Russia's most prominent political ally in Kyiv.
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