On 12 July 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote an article on Kremlin.ru, claiming that "Russians and Ukrainians were one people – a single whole" and wrote a long dissertation on the common origins of Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians in medieval Kievan Rus' and their history through the century, concluding that "true sovereignty of Ukraine is possible only in partnership with Russia". He also argued that the Ukrainian leadership had "wasted and frittered away the achievements of many generations", accusing them of imposing a nationalist, anti-Russian sentiment against the will of the Ukrainian people.[30] The article received a detailed response from British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace on Gov.uk on 17 January 2022.[31]