Russian President Vladamir Putin referred to territories in east Ukraine as "Novorussia," or "New Russia," and asserted Russian ties to the area, in a televised question-and-answer show.
"It's new Russia. Kharkiv, Lugansk, Donetsk, Odessa were not part of Ukraine in Czarist times, they were transferred in 1920. Why? God knows. Then for various reasons these areas were gone, and the people stayed there - we need to encourage them to find a solution," Putin said.
Novorussia, a term being increasingly used by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine, refers to an area north of the Black Sea that was gradually conquered by Russia in the late 18th century through peace treaties with the Cossack Hetmanate and the Ottoman Empire. In 1922 it was made part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, part of the Soviet Union.
The area, which has a majority ethnic Russian population today, is currently caught in a standoff between separatists and Ukrainian forces.
Here's a map of New Russia:
Wikimedia Commons
And here's a map of the vast Russian empire at its height in 1866, when it included Ukraine:
Wikimedia Commons