The people of Crimea, from what I've heard, would rather be with Russia than where they were.

In the hearts and minds of people, Crimea has always been, and remains, an inseparable part of Russia.. Don't believe those who try to frighten you with Russia, who scream that other regions will follow after Crimea. We do not want a partition of Ukraine. We do not need this.

There is no man more pusillanimous than I when I am planning a campaign. I purposely exaggerate all the dangers and all the calamities that the circumstances make possible. I am in a thoroughly painful state of agitation. This does not keep me from looking quite serene in front of my entourage; I am like an unmarried girl laboring with child. Once I have made up my mind, everything is forgotten except what leads to success.

If fifty thousand men were to die for the good of the State, I certainly would weep for them, but political necessity comes before everything else.

You do understand, George, that Ukraine is not even a state. What is Ukraine? Part of its territories is Eastern Europe, but the greater part is a gift from us.

It is part of the established technique of the "cold war" the Soviets have begun against us all, that in any country which has fallen into their power, people of character and men of heart and personality outstanding in any walk of life, from the manual worker to the university professor, shall be what is called in their savage jargon "liquidated".