Putin Says Crimea Sacred, Attacks U.S., EU Over Ukraine

President Vladimir Putin attacked the U.S. and Europe for backing Ukraine and said that Crimea, which the Kremlin annexed from the former Soviet republic in March, has “sacred meaning” as Russia’s “Jerusalem.”

As Ukrainian officials planned to pause shelling on Dec. 9, Putin said he isn’t surprised by the country’s separatist conflict, given what he termed “the coup and violent takeover of power” in Kiev in February. He said the U.S. and European Union, who have imposed sanctions that are hobbling Russia’s economy over its stance on Ukraine, would have penalized his country even if the conflict hadn’t broken out.