Putin Trying to Destroy Country, Says Ukraine PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to destroy Ukraine as an independent country, said Ukraine Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk on Saturday.

By doing this, Putin aims to restore the Soviet Union, he said.

Speaking at a conference in Kiev, Yatseniuk said that Putin's goal is to take entire Ukraine.

"His aim is not just to take Donetsk and Lugansk," Yatsenyuk said. "His goal is to take the entire Ukraine ... Russia is a threat to the global order and to the security of Europe," Yatseniuk said, reports The Guardian.

Yatsenuk said that the countries are still in a phase of war and the Russian federation is indulging in acts of aggression. According to him, Putin wants another frozen conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Praising the new sanctions imposed on Russia by the European Union and the United States, Yatseniuk said that they are a big threat to the economy of Russia, reports Reuters.

He said that Russia is bluffing when it says that it is not concerned about the sanctions.

The Ukrainian prime minister also said that it was very hard to bring investment in to Ukraine when Russian tanks and artillery were present in the country.

On the question of Ukraine being admitted to NATO in future, Yatseniuk said that presently NATO was not willing to admit Ukraine. However, he pointed out that NATO is the only organization capable of defending his country in the present circumstances.

Meanwhile, a convoy of trucks, filled with almost 2,000 tons of humanitarian aid, according to Russian news outlets, crossed into Ukraine from Russia, reports the Associated Press.