Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (2R), Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov (L) and governor of the Moscow Region Boris Gromov visit the Gazprom (VNIIGAZ) Scientific and Research Institute of Natural Gases and Gas Technologies outside Moscow on August 3, 2010. AFP PHOTO / RIA NOVOSTI / POOL / ALEXEY DRUZHININ (Photo credit should read ALEXEY DRUZHININ/AFP/Getty Images)
MOSCOW, RUSSIA - JULY 24, 2016: Asphalt laying works are carried out on a section of Tverskaya Street from Mokhovaya Street to Boulevard Ring. Mikhail Japaridze/TASS (Photo by Mikhail JaparidzeTASS via Getty Images)
TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY MARIA ANTONOVA
Andrei Krasilnikov, 48, fighter of Ukrainian volonteers battalion of Ayadar, prepares his rucksack in southern Ukrainian city of Odessa prior to leaving for the frontline in eastern Ukraine on March 14, 2015. Krasilnikov is one of several Russians fighting as a volunteer against the pro-Moscow insurgency in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. Like many Ukrainians he views the conflict as "a war by Russia against Ukraine" rather than a home-grown uprising. AFP PHOTO/ ALEXEY KRAVTSOV (Photo credit should read ALEXEY KRAVTSOV/AFP/Getty Images)
A man walks past a poster in Sevastopol on March 13, 2014 reading "On March 16 we will choose either... or...", depicting Crimea in red with a swastika and covered in barbed wire (L) and Crimea with the colors of the Russian flag. Losing Crimea could result in millions in banking losses for the mainland, Ukraine's central bank governor warned on March 13, as the autonomous region looked likely to vote to join Russia in a weekend referendum. AFP PHOTO/ VIKTOR DRACHEV (Photo credit should read VIKTOR DRACHEV/AFP/Getty Images)