Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed Kyiv for the latest burst of fighting in Ukraine’s restive east.<br /><br /> Putin made the accusation on the second of a three-day trip to Crimea – the peninsula Russia annexed from Ukraine last year.<br /><br /> The visit has angered Kyiv, which still considers the Black Sea region Ukrainian.<br /><br /> However, the Russian president praised the 2014 takeover as a matter of historic justice.<br /><br /> It’s a view not shared by the West. Sanctions slapped on to Moscow following the annexation have cost the Russian economy dearly.<br /><br /> They aggravated an economic crisis in the country, which is suffering from weak oil prices and a rapid devaluation of its rouble national currency. Russia is also struggling under curbed technology transfers from the West, which are crucial to its future development. <br /><br /> Interethnic relations<br /><br /> The official purpose of the trip is to promote tourism in Crimea, but Putin also used the occasion to meet with the area’s minority groups, including the Tat
