Kiev's Western backers need to understand that long-range strikes on Russian territory using weaponry they have supplied would represent a conflict escalation that would have “serious consequences,” Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned.
Speaking to reporters at the end of a two-day visit to Uzbekistan, Putin addressed recent Ukrainian demands for NATO to permit the use of their weapons to attack deep inside Russia as well as comments by the US-led bloc’s head, Jens Stoltenberg, appearing to endorse the tactic.
“To be honest, I don’t know what the NATO secretary-general is saying,” Putin told reporters, adding that Stoltenberg “did not suffer from any dementia” when he worked constructively with Russia as the prime minister of Norway (2005-2013).
This constant escalation can lead to serious consequences. If these serious consequences occur in Europe, how will the US behave, bearing in mind our parity in the field of strategic weapons? Hard to say. Do they want global conflict?
Putin explained that long-range precision strikes require space reconnaissance assets – which Ukraine does not have, but the US does – and that their targeting is already done by “highly qualified specialists” from the West, without Ukrainian participation.
“So, these representatives of NATO countries, especially in Europe, especially in small countries, must be aware of what they are playing with,” the Russian president said, noting that a lot of these countries have “a small territory and a very dense population.”
Putin reminded reporters that their colleagues in the West never reported on the Ukrainian attacks on Belgorod and other Russian regions along the border, only about the Russian advance on Kharkov.
“What caused this? They did, with their own hands. Well, then, they will reap what they have sown. The same thing can happen if long-range precision weapons are used,” the Russian president added.
Asked if Russia was refusing to negotiate with Ukraine, Putin told reporters that such claims by the West were baffling.
“We don’t refuse!” he said. “I’ve said it a thousand times, it’s like they don’t have ears!”
The Ukrainian side initialed an agreement with Russia in March 2022, then publicly reneged and refused to negotiate any further, Putin explained. He described Kiev’s current “peace conference” effort in Switzerland as an attempt to get some kind of international buy-in for their entirely unrealistic “peace platform,” which isn’t working out.
Scale of Ukrainian Army Losses ‘Astounding’, Western Journalist Admits
Last month, the Russian Defense Ministry put the losses of the Ukrainian military since the start of Moscow's special operation at nearly half a million soldiers.
“The scale of Ukraine’s losses on the battlefield is astounding,” Irish journalist Chay Bowes has written on his X (formerly Twitter) page.
The scale of Ukraines losses on the battlefield are astounding.
— Chay Bowes (@BowesChay) May 27, 2024
There's a reason reporting military losses in Ukraine os illegal and access to the front is strictly restricted.
Ukriane is lying about the vast death toll. And Western Client media is complying. pic.twitter.com/ZwGHJowyoI
"There's a reason reporting military losses in Ukraine is illegal and access to the front is strictly restricted. Ukraine is lying about the vast death toll. And Western Client media is complying," Bowes added.
Stoltenberg. Unelected by the people of Europe.
— Chay Bowes (@BowesChay) May 27, 2024
Von der Liar. Unelected by the people of Europe.
Zelensky. Unelected by the people of Ukraine.
Three people drIving us towards WW3 in the name of "Democracy" and "Freedom" neither of which they adhere to themselves. pic.twitter.com/jF1G9uGAaE
The journalist was apparently referring to the Ukrainian president's allegations on the matter in February, when he claimed that the Ukrainian military has ostensibly lost 31,000 soldiers since the beginning of the Russian special military operation in February 2022.
In late April, then-Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the Ukrainian Army’s losses stood at almost half a million soldiers at the time.
He also said that Russian battlegroups get the better of the enemy along the entire front line, driving Ukrainian troops out of their positions. According to Shoigu, the combat potential of the Russian Army enables it to maintain constant fire on the enemy, preventing them from holding defensive lines.
In March, Shoigu announced that the Ukrainian forces had lost more than 71,000 soldiers since the start of the year.
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