Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russians and Ukrainians are essentially one people and partially agreed with the view that what is happening now in Ukraine could be called a civil war, Interfax reported.

"The fact that Russians and Ukrainians are essentially one people is a historical fact," he said, speaking at a plenary session of the Valdai international discussion forum.

Asked whether this means we can now talk about a civil war, Putin said: "In part, yes."

According to the president, "we find ourselves in different states, unfortunately, for a number of reasons."

Putin is convinced that "attempts to divide the united Russian people" began in the 19th century. "In the 19th century, this began to happen, acquired greater and greater scope, supported, including by the West," he said.

As Putin noted, "in part of the population it was cultivated, someone began to like it."

"The principle of 'divide and conquer,' there is nothing unusual here. Well, it reached certain goals," said the head of state.

"Then it manifested itself in cooperation with Hitler during World War II," he added.

"The only real, such serious guarantor of Ukrainian statehood, sovereignty and territorial integrity could be only Russia, which created today's Ukraine," Putin said.