"A war between Russian and Ukraine is impossible," Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his annual question and answer session officially known as Direct Line with Vladimir Putin.
"No, I presume it’s impossible," Putin said during his annual live question and answer session known as Direct Line with Vladimir Putin, answering a question put by a resident of Russia’s town of Gukovo near the border with Ukraine. "Don’t worry," he said.
The president added that "there have been certain excesses linked with the fact that shells fired from Ukraine’s territory were reaching the area, but in this case I prefer to be based on the understanding that they were random accidents rather than attempts to damage our cities or infrastructure facilities from the cross-border region.".
The Russian president also once again stressed that no Russian troops are involved in the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine.