Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Russia's border "doesn't end anywhere", addressing a televised awards ceremony for students.在一场电视颁奖典礼上，俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京对学生们称：“俄罗斯的边境没有终点”。"That was a joke," Mr Putin said amid applause and laughter from the audience at the glitzy ceremony.在这场盛大的仪式上，面对观众发出的热烈掌声和欢声笑语，普京说道：“我只是开个玩笑而已。”He was asking a nine-year-old boy: "Where does Russia's border end?"当时普京正在问一个9岁的男孩：“俄罗斯的边界到那里为止？”The boy had said "at the Bering Strait". Mr Putin then provided his own answer.这个男孩回答道：“在白令海峡”。但是普京说出了他自己的答案。

In July 2014, three months after Russian troops annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, he spelled out his doctrine to Russian ambassadors.2014年7月，在俄罗斯军队兼并乌克兰克里米亚半岛三个月之后，普京向俄罗斯大使们阐明了他的理念。"I would like to make it clear to all: our country will continue to actively defend the rights of Russians, our compatriots abroad, using the entire range of available means - from political and economic to operations under international humanitarian law and the right of self-defence."“我想对你们明确表示：我们的国家将继续努力保护俄罗斯人和海外同胞的权利，我们将使用一切可能的手段，包括政治的和经济的手段，以及包括采取一切符合国际人道法律和自卫权利的手段。”Nato and Western leaders accuse the Kremlin of sending regular troops and heavy weapons to pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied that, insisting that any Russian troops there are "volunteers".报道称，北约和西方国家领导人一直指责克里姆林宫向乌克兰东部“派遣正规军”，并向当地的亲俄民间武装运送重型武器，但克里姆林宫方面对此予以否认，坚称那里的所有俄军都是“志愿者”。