MOSCOW – The imposition of sanctions on Moscow by the West is tantamount to a declaration of war, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated on Saturday.
During a meeting with women employees of some Russian airlines ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, Putin said many of the challenges Russia is facing are means of fighting against the country.
“A lot of what is happening, what we are facing, are ways of fighting Russia. The sanctions that are being imposed are akin to a declaration of war, but, thank God, it hasn’t come to that yet,” he said.
Any attempt to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, Putin warned, would be joining the conflict.
“Now we hear that it is necessary to establish a no-fly zone over the territory of Ukraine. It is impossible to do this on the territory of Ukraine itself, it is possible only on the territory of some neighboring states,” he said.
Any movement in this direction, he warned, “will be considered by us as participation in the armed conflict of the country from whose territory threats to our servicemen will be created.”
“We will immediately consider them as participants of the military conflict, and it doesn’t matter which organizations they are members of,” he added.
Putin stressed that Russia could not “ignore” Ukrainian leaders’ statements about their intentions to develop nuclear weapons, claiming that its neighbor could swiftly become a nuclear power with the Soviet heritage and Western help.
“Ukraine has had nuclear competencies since Soviet times. And as for enrichment and nuclear elements, they can organize this work. In addition, Kyiv has missile competencies. And there, from across the ocean, they will also help to do it,” he said. “We seek the demilitarization of the country, because we want clearly and explicitly understand which weapons are where under what control.”
In his subsequent statements, Russian President warned that Ukraine’s plan to join NATO might also lead to serious consequences.
“The goals of the Russian operation in Ukraine are denazification and demilitarization of the country, giving it a neutral status. Why the neutral status? Because if it has the neutral status, then it will not be going to join NATO,” he said.
Putin added that if Ukraine were a nuclear power and a NATO member, the alliance would not need ballistic missiles to deter Russia; instead, it would hold Russia at nuclear gunpoint right on its own border.
He claimed that the target of the demilitarization has nearly been met, citing the destruction of warehouses containing weapons, ammunition, aviation, and air defense systems.
Putin advised to resolve the issue of foreigners arrested in Ukraine
Putin said Russia had tried to end the conflict in Donbas peacefully for eight years, and that the demands of the breakaway regions “were not big.”
He further said that the sanctions enforced against them were too harsh, and he chastised Western countries for failing to notice the suffering of those living in Donbas for nearly a decade.
Russia declared two separatist-held enclaves in Ukraine’s Donbas region as independent republics on the eve of declaring war on Ukraine last week.
Concerning the evacuation of civilians, Putin stated that Russia promptly agreed to Ukraine’s proposal to establish humanitarian corridors in Mariupol and Volnovakha, but civilians are not permitted to leave.
“Look what is happening – no one is allowed to leave. They cover themselves like a human shield. Who are they after it? Of course, neo-Nazis,” he said.
Around 6,000 foreign students, he added, have been held at a railway station in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, calling them “hostages.”
Putin stated that Russia alerted Ukrainian authorities, Western leaders, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres about foreign students held by the Ukrainian troops, but that no action has been taken to resolve the matter so far, with just verbal pledges given.
He further claimed that militants from the Middle East and other European nations had been spotted in Ukraine by the Russian military.
Putin also explained why he decided to put Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert, claiming it was provoked by British Foreign Minister Elizabeth Truss’ assertion that NATO is taking part in the conflict in Ukraine.
The president denied that Russia will impose martial law, claiming that the army rule is enforced in the country by presidential decree in the event of external assault.
“But we do not have such a situation and, I hope, will not,” he said.
