Russia’s President Vladmir Putin blamed the U.S. and its European allies of staging a “coup-d’etat” (French for a “blow to state”) in Ukraine while visiting the nation of Egypt. Putin further denied Russian involvement in the arming of rebels in the city of Donetsk.
Over 5,000 people have died in the conflict which began in the spring of 2014. The conflict is thought to have displaced over a million people in the Eastern Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula.
To curb the conflict, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande flew to Moscow to discuss how to end the fighting while U.S. politicians Senator John McCain (R) and former peace activist Sec. of Defense John Kerry (D) continue to rattle sabers in support of sending more arms to the region.
