SEVASTOPOL (Crimea): Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday blamed the Ukrainian government for the latest upsurge in fighting between Kiev forces and Russia-backed rebels in east Ukraine. After taking a dive in an underwater submersible in Crimea, a Black Sea peninsula Moscow annexed from Kiev last year, Putin told reporters: "Regrettably, we are now seeing this conflict escalation and the blame lies not with the Donbas militia but with the rival side," he said, referring to the rebel-held Ukrainian region. "I hope there won't be full-scale direct clashes." Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin (front) is seen inside a research bathyscaphe while submerging into the waters of the Black Sea as he takes part in an expedition near Sevastopol, Crimea, August 18, 2015.
