In a speech to lawmakers, Putin said his forces would respond to any country that posed a “strategic threat” to Russia and its operations in Ukraine. Experts say Russian officials have stepped up their threatening statements to NATO in recent days as a strategic tactic. Russian President Vladimir Putin has described what a NATO ally in Ukraine would have to do to justify a military response against the ally. In this photo, Putin appears to be delivering a speech at a meeting of the Russian parliament’s advisory council in St. Petersburg on April 27, 2022. Getty On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with state media that “NATO is essentially going to war with Russia through a proxy and equipping that proxy.” Earlier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview on April 13 that Russia would consider US and NATO vehicles carrying weapons on Ukrainian soil as “legitimate military targets.” Putin’s latest comments have made his stance even clearer. “But I would also like to note something I talked about at the beginning of the special military operation. “Let me emphasize once again that if anyone intends to intervene from the outside and create a strategic threat to Russia that is unacceptable to us, you should know that our retaliation will be lightning fast,” Putin said. He added: “We have the tools we need for this, the like of which no one else can claim right now. We will not just brag, we will use it if necessary. And I want everyone to know this, we have all done it. decisions on this matter “. The Financial Times noted that Putin’s words that “we have the tools we need for this, which no one else can claim right now” could be a reference to an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear weapons recently tested by Russia. . Putin also claimed that Western entities had influenced the Ukrainians to develop a “Russophobic” state. He said this alleged anti-Russian sentiment, along with neo-Nazi influence, he said had spread to “historic Russian territory” in Crimea and Donbass, which he said required the Kremlin to take action. The Russian president also claimed that sanctions imposed on Russia by other countries failed to decimate the country’s economy. He said that the measures taken by his government “repulsed, prevented the first overwhelming blow – as the West believed – of illegal sanctions against our country”. Newsweek contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment.
