If Kiev starts to use army against people inside country this is serious crime - Putin

ST. PETERSBURG, April 24 (Itar-Tass) - If current Kiev authorities started to use army against people inside Ukraine this is a very serious crime against their own people, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a media forum in the Russian northern capital city on Thursday. “If current Kiev authorities really started to use army against people inside the country this is a very serious crime against their own people,” the president noted, recalling that even legitimate Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich did not dare to use army for breaking up rallies in Kiev, though he had a specific mandate for this. Putin said with confidence that current Kiev authorities did not have such mandate and legitimacy of their actions was only partial. “This is a junta, some kind of clique,” the Russian leader said with bewilderment. In his words, current events in east Ukraine’s city of Donetsk are not an acute stage of the conflict. “This is a punitive operation which will entail consequences for people who take these decisions, including for interstate relations,” Putin noted. Learn more on itar-tass.com