© RIA Novosti / Alexei NikolskiyPresidential Aide Yuri Ushakov said Vladimir Putin’s apparent ability “to take Kiev in two weeks” was taken out of context
"This is incorrect, this goes beyond the framework of diplomatic practice. This is unbecoming of a serious political figure," Ushakov said, referring to Barroso's comment.
Earlier this week, Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported that after Barroso's telephone conversation with Putin, the European Commission president claimed that the Russian leader said he could take Ukraine in two weeks.
The Kremlin later responded that Putin's words were misinterpreted and had completely different meaning.
As the Ukrainian crisis escalated, the West continued accusing Russia of meddling in Ukraine's internal affairs, sending troops to Ukraine, and went as far as to claim that Moscow planned to invade Ukraine. However, none of these statements were supported with any evidence.
Moscow, on the contrary, has repeatedly stated that it is not involved in Ukraine's internal conflict, and said that the crisis could only be resolved through a comprehensive political dialogue.
Kiev's actions escalated the situation in southeastern Ukraine. Since the country's authorities launched a military operation to suppress independence supporters who refused to recognize the legitimacy of a new government, almost 2,600 people have died in the affected regions, with more than 6,000 injured.
Comment: This quotation was obviously taken out of context and spun to imply that Putin is planning on invading Ukraine. However, if these were his actual words, it makes a whole lot more sense that he was saying something along the lines of what Dmitry Orlov recently wrote: If Russia really had invaded Ukraine, this is what the picture would look like. In other words, no, Russia has not invaded Ukraine. If they had, Kiev would be taken relatively easily and it would be clear and obvious for all to see.