Early Tuesday, ahead of Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a press conference on the escalating situation in Crimea and Ukraine. He claimed that none of his troops had actually moved into Crimea, a startling and seemingly untrue statement. 

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Putin claimed the forces in Crimea were local defense forces, not members of the Russian military, explaining that their mismatching uniforms do not mark them as official forces: “Look at former Soviet Republics…You can go to a store and buy a uniform. Were these Russian soldiers? No…”

John Kerry's response, shedding light on the U.S. response to Putin's assertions, was reportedly to smile and comment, "He really denied there were troops in Crimea?"

In defending Russia’s right to use military force in response to Ukraine, Putin said that ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was the “only one legitimate president.” On the West’s support for Ukraine he said, “They sit there across the pond as if in a lab running all kinds of experiments on the rats.” 

Another press conference highlight was Putin’s claim that "Our major concern is the orgy of nationalists, and extremists and anti-Semites on the streets of Kiev."

For more on the press conference see Fox News and the Washington Post.

Follow Executive Producer Sarah Geisler on Twitter here.