Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday denied seeking to revive the Soviet Union, moments after announcing Moscow would annex four Ukrainian provinces following "referendums" decried in Kyiv and the West as a sham.
In a speech from the Kremlin to hundreds of Russia's top politicians, Putin said Russia would defend its new territory with all the means at its disposal, remarks that could signal aN escalation in the conflict with Ukraine.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
