By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV (Associated Press)
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed Thursday to satisfy Moscow’s targets in Ukraine and sternly warned the West towards deeper involvement within the combating, saying that such a transfer is fraught with the chance of a world nuclear battle.
Putin’s blunt warning got here in a state-of-the-nation handle forward of subsequent month’s election he’s all however sure to win, underlining his readiness to lift the stakes within the tug-of-war with the West to guard the Russian beneficial properties in Ukraine.
In an obvious reference to French President Emmanuel Macron’s assertion earlier this week that the long run deployment of Western floor troops to Ukraine shouldn’t be “ruled out”, Putin warned that it might result in “tragic” penalties for the nations who resolve to do this.
Putin famous that whereas accusing Russia of plans to assault NATO allies in Europe, Western allies had been “selecting targets for striking our territory” and “talking about the possibility of sending a NATO contingent to Ukraine.”
“We remember the fate of those who sent their troop contingents to the territory of our country,” the Russian chief stated in an obvious allusion to the failed invasions by Napoleon and Hitler. “Now the consequences for the potential invaders will be far more tragic.”
In a two-hour speech earlier than an viewers of lawmakers and prime officers, Putin forged Western leaders as reckless and irresponsible and declared that the West ought to take into account that “we also have the weapons that can strike targets on their territory, and what they are now suggesting and scaring the world with, all that raises the real threat of a nuclear conflict that will mean the destruction of our civilization.”
The sturdy assertion adopted earlier warnings from Putin, who has issued frequent reminders of Russia’s nuclear would possibly since he despatched troops into Ukraine in February 2022 as he sought to discourage the West from increasing its army help for Kyiv.
Putin emphasised that Russia’s nuclear forces are in “full readiness,” saying that the army has deployed potent new weapons, a few of them examined on the battlefield in Ukraine.
The Kremlin chief stated they embody the brand new Sarmat heavy intercontinental ballistic missile that has entered service with Russian nuclear forces, together with the Burevestnik atomic-powered cruise missile and the Poseidon atomic-powered, nuclear-armed drone, that are finishing their checks.
At the identical time, he rejected Western leaders’ statements about the specter of a Russian assault on NATO allies in Europe as “ravings” and once more dismissed Washington’s declare that Moscow was pondering the deployment of space-based nuclear weapons.
Putin charged that the U.S. allegations had been a part of a ploy to attract Russia into talks on nuclear arms management on American phrases whilst Washington continues its efforts to ship a “strategic defeat” to Moscow in Ukraine.
“Ahead of the U.S. election, they just want to show their citizens, as well as others, that they continue to rule the world,” he stated. “It won’t work.”
In his speech that targeted closely on financial and social points forward of the March 15-17 presidential vote, Putin argued that Russia was “defending its sovereignty and security and protecting our compatriots” in Ukraine, charging that the Russian forces have the higher hand within the combating.
He reaffirmed his declare that the West was bent on destroying Russia, saying “they need a dependent, waning, dying space in the place of Russia so that they can do whatever they want.”
The Russian chief honored the troops fallen in Ukraine with a second of silence, and stated that army veterans ought to type the core of the nation’s new elite, inviting them to hitch a brand new coaching program for senior civil servants.
Putin has repeatedly stated that he despatched troops into Ukraine in February 2022 to guard Russian pursuits and forestall Ukraine from posing a significant safety menace to Russia by becoming a member of NATO. Kyiv and its allies have denounced it as an unprovoked act of aggression.
The Russian chief has repeatedly signaled a need to barter an finish to the combating however warned that Russia will maintain onto its beneficial properties.
Putin, 71, who’s working as an impartial candidate within the March 15-17 presidential election, depends on the tight management over Russia’s political system that he has established throughout 24 years in energy.
Prominent critics who may problem him have both been imprisoned or reside overseas, whereas most impartial media have been banned, which means that Putin’s reelection is all however assured. He faces token opposition from three different candidates nominated by Kremlin-friendly events represented in parliament.
Russia’s best-known opposition chief Alexei Navalny, whose try and run towards Putin in 2018 was rejected, died all of the sudden in an Arctic jail colony earlier this month, whereas serving a 19-year sentence on extremism fees. Navalny’s funeral is ready for Friday.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”