Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned of a “global catastrophe” in the event of a direct clash of NATO troops with Russia. Putin made the comments at a news conference at the end of a summit in Kazakhstan. Just a few days back, Moscow hit Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with its heaviest missile attacks since the start of its invasion on February 24.
“In any case, direct contact, direct clash of (NATO) troops with the Russian army is a very dangerous move which could lead to a global catastrophe. I hope that those who are saying this are smart enough not to take such a step,” Putin said.
Putin said that the missile strikes were a retaliation for the attack on Crimea bridge and there were no need for further attacks right now.
“We do not set ourselves the task of destroying Ukraine. No, of course not,” Putin said.
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He said there was “no need for massive strikes” now because most designated targets had been hit.
Putin also spoke about Moscow’s current situation and said they were “doing everything right”. Russia has suffered a string of embarrassing defeats against Kyiv’s forces in the past few weeks,
“What is happening today is not pleasant. But all the same, (if Russia hadn’t attacked in February) we would have been in the same situation, only the conditions would have been worse for us,” Putin told reporters.
“So we’re doing everything right,” he insisted.
Earlier, Putin had warned that he would use nuclear weapons to defend Russian territory after annexing four regions of Ukraine last month, a move which the UN this week condemned.
Putin also spoke on the matter of mobilisation and said that his call-up of Russian reservists would be over within two weeks and there were no plans for a further mobilisation.
He also repeated the Kremlin position that Russia was willing to hold talks, although he said they would require international mediation if Ukraine was prepared to take part.
Just a few hours before Putin made the comments, Kremlin-installed officials in the southern Kherson region had urged residents to leave as Kyiv said its soldiers were advancing.
(With inputs from agencies)
