Illarionov made his remarks today on Ukraine's ICTV television. Vladimir Putin's former economic advisor added: "I didn't want to say this before but after this morning's events, I could no longer stay silent."
Earlier today, Russia's state-controlled Gazprom energy company reiterated a threat to cut off gas supplies to Ukraine on 1 January unless Kyiv agrees to a more than four-fold increase in Russian gas imports.
Illarionov resigned on 27 December, saying Russia was no longer a free country
(AFP)