On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians (Russian: Об историческом единстве русских и украинцев; Ukrainian: Про історичну єдність росіян та українців) is an essay by Vladimir Putin published on 12 July 2021, shortly after the end of the first phase of the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis. In the essay, Putin describes his views on Ukraine and Ukrainians.[1]