Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with heads of international news agencies on the sidelines of the 27th edition of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
Photo: EFE – VALENTINA PEVTSOVA / SPUTNIK / K
Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened this Wednesday to deliver long-range weapons in areas where Western powers could be targets of attacks, if they provided that type of weapons to Ukraine.
Putin’s statements, delivered at a rare press conference with foreign media in St. Petersburg, come after the United States and several European countries authorized Ukraine to use, under certain conditions, the weapons given to it to attack Russian territory.
“If someone thinks that it is possible to supply these weapons to a war zone to attack our territory (…), why don’t we have the right to send weapons of the same type to regions of the world where sensitive installations of countries that act against Russia?” Putin asked. “That is, the response may be asymmetric. We will think about it,” he told reporters.
The 71-year-old president, however, called the allegations that Russia plans to attack members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) “nonsense.” “Do not seek our imperial ambitions. They do not exist,” he stressed. “Delivering weapons to a war zone is always wrong. Even more so if those who do it not only deliver weapons, but also control them. “This is a very serious and very dangerous step,” added the head of the Kremlin.
The Russian leader cited Germany and stated that when the first tanks supplied by Berlin “appeared on Ukrainian soil, it caused a moral and ethical shock in Russia.” Referring to the authorities of this country, he added: “When they say that there will be more missiles that will hit targets on Russian territory, this definitively destroys Russian-German relations.” Berlin authorized Kiev to use its weapons against military targets in Russia to defend itself against attacks launched, in particular, in the Kharkiv region, the spokesman for the German head of government announced at the end of May.
Military casualties in the war between Moscow and kyiv
During the press conference, Putin insisted that his country “did not start the war against Ukraine” and blamed it on the pro-Western revolution of 2014. “Everyone thinks that Russia started the war in Ukraine. “I would like to emphasize that no one in the West, in Europe, wants to remember how this tragedy began,” he said.
The Russian president refused to give the number of Russian casualties on the battlefield in the more than two years of war, limiting himself to saying that those of the former Soviet republic were five times higher: “If we talk about irrecoverable losses, the proportion is one to five.” The issue of military casualties is extremely sensitive in Russia, where any criticism of the war is prohibited and where “spreading false information” about the Army carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
When asked about the death of AFP journalist Arman Soldin in Ukraine last year, allegedly by Russian rocket fire, Putin indicated that Moscow was willing to cooperate in the investigation. He added, however, that he did not know “how it would be done in practice,” since Soldin died in a combat zone.
Putin on the United States and Donald Trump
The Russian president was also asked what a victory by former US President Donald Trump or current President Joe Biden would mean for relations between the United States and Russia: “In general, for us there is no difference,” he answered. “We do not believe that after the elections there will be any changes regarding Russia and in American policy.”
However, he attributed the legal problems of Donald Trump, convicted on criminal charges, to a “political infighting” between Democrats and Republicans ahead of the US presidential election in November. In fact, at Wednesday’s conference, he added: “It is obvious around the world that the prosecution of Trump – especially in court on charges that were formed on the basis of events that happened years ago, without direct evidence – is simply using the judicial system in an internal political struggle. “His supposed leadership in the sphere of democracy is being burned to the ground.”
The former Republican president, who aspires to return to the White House, was found guilty last week of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal in the final stages of the 2016 presidential campaign. His sentence will be pronounced on July 11.
On the other hand, Putin affirmed that Russia and the United States were in “permanent contact” about a possible prisoner exchange, which would free the American journalist Evan Gershkovich, detained last year on accusations of espionage: “The competent services of the United States and Russia “They are in permanent contact and, of course, they will decide only on the basis of reciprocity.”
