Russian dictator Vladimir Putin claimed that Ukrainians and Russians are supposedly one people, citing "the latest genetic studies." At the same time, he did not specify which scientific works he was referring to and provided no evidence to support his claim. Meduza reported this, citing Putin's interview with a journalist from the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, UNN writes.
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During the conversation, the Kremlin chief once again repeated the claim about the supposed unity of the Ukrainian and Russian peoples, attempting to support it with genetics.
This is a people very close to us. The latest genetic studies show that they are one people—Russians and Ukrainians
Putin denies wanting to wage war against Ukraine
Despite Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has continued since February 2022, Putin claimed that Moscow supposedly does not want war.
We do not want to wage war against Ukraine. If today's Ukrainian leadership wants to fight—let it fight, but why does it believe that everyone should pay for it and supply them with weapons?
In addition, commenting on the possibility of freezing hostilities along the current front line, Putin called the occupied Ukrainian lands "the territory of historic Russia."
At the same time, genetic relatedness among the populations of different countries does not prove that they constitute one people. National identity is determined not only by ancestry, but also by people's language, culture, history, and self-identification.