Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed Kiev’s use of force against its own people in east Ukraine, as he hoped he would not have to use his right to send Russian troops into the crisis-hit country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed Kiev’s use of force against its own people in east Ukraine, as he hoped he would not have to use his right to send Russian troops into the crisis-hit country.

“Have they lost their minds!?” said Putin during his annual question and answer session. “They are deploying tanks, armored vehicles and weaponry! Against whom?! Are they nuts?!"

Putin said he hoped he would not have to use his "right" to send Russian military forces into Ukraine, in a signal that the option was still very much open.

"I very much hope that I am not obliged to use this right and that through political and diplomatic means we can solve all the acute problems in Ukraine."

Putin emphasized that he favored dialogue as the way out of the crisis, saying he believed the talks that opened Thursday in Geneva between top diplomats on the crisis were "extremely important".

"Only through dialogue, through democratic procedures and not with the use of armed forces, tanks and planes can order be imposed in the country," Putin said, adding that Kiev authorities were "out of their mind" to do this.

"It is very important today to think about how to get out of this situation and offer people a genuine dialogue and not one just for show."

But he accused the Ukrainian authorities who took over after the fall of president Viktor Yanukovych in February of driving the country to the abyss.

"I hope that they manage to understand towards what abyss the Kiev authorities are going, dragging with them the whole country."