Vladimir Putin has criticized the idea that Russia plans to attack NATO as “nonsense”, while also threatening to load Western countries’ enemies with missiles to attack them in revenge for their support for Ukraine.
In a rare press conference with Western media yesterday, the dictator denied having “imperial ambitions” and told reporters that “the idea came to them that Russia wants to attack NATO.”
‘You’ve lost your mind? Are you as thick as two short boards? Who invented this? “It’s nonsense,” the 71-year-old Kremlin chief ranted.
But at the same meeting, the dictator threatened to supply his advanced weapons to the enemies of Britain and other Western countries that are providing long-range weapons to kyiv. These Russian weapons could then be used to harm NATO countries.
While many NATO members have provided weapons to kyiv to support its fight against Russian invaders, the head of the military alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, stressed today that he has no plans to deploy forces to Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin has criticized the idea that Russia plans to attack NATO as “nonsense”
Vladimir Putin threatened to supply missiles to Britain’s enemies so they can attack the UK in revenge for supplying Ukraine with long-range Strom Shadow missiles.
The Russian president made the chilling comments while speaking to the media at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
The Kremlin dictator for the first time threatened to supply his advanced weapons to enemies of Britain and other Western countries that supply long-range weapons to kyiv.
Putin made it clear that he was also willing to supply weapons as NATO countries had done, but in his case to enemies of Britain and other Western countries.
Russians examine downed British Storm Shadow missile (pictured)
Putin made his latest comments yesterday at a wide-ranging news conference with foreign journalists in St. Petersburg, a rare occurrence and the first time he has answered questions from Western journalists since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
As several countries, including the United States, have given Ukraine permission to use its weapons to attack inside Russia, Putin warned that such actions could lead to “very serious problems.”
‘If someone thinks that it is possible to supply such weapons to a war zone to attack our territory and create problems for us, why don’t we have the right to supply weapons of the same kind to regions of the world where there will be attacks? About sensitive facilities in those countries? he said.
‘That is, the response may be asymmetric. We’ll think about it.’
In more belligerent comments, the Russian president also accused the United Kingdom of being directly involved in the war in Ukraine, alleging that British armed forces personnel are targeting missiles that hit Russian targets.
Putin again issued a threat to use nuclear weapons if Russia’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity” are threatened, warning: “This should not be taken lightly or superficially.”
He accused Britain, the United States and France of using their armed forces to attack Russian positions linked to the Ukraine war.
“With regard to long-range precision weapons… like the British Storm Shadow or the American ATACMS or the French missiles,” he said in an interview with reporters at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
“How is it used?” Putin asked. “The Ukrainian military cannot do everything alone and attack with this missile.
“They are simply technologically incapable of doing it,” he continued.
‘To do this, it is necessary to have satellite reconnaissance, then on the basis of this satellite reconnaissance… form a flight task and then enter it into the missile system.
‘The soldier next to him does it automatically: he presses buttons.
“Maybe I don’t even know what will happen next.”
Putin made it clear that he sees this as direct Western involvement in the war.
“I repeat, the flight task is formed and… only those who supply these weapons enter,” he said.
‘If it’s ATACMS then the Pentagon is doing it, if it’s Storm Shadow then it means the British are doing it.
‘And in the case of Storm Shadow, it’s even simpler.
‘The simplicity lies in the fact that the flight task is entered automatically, without the participation of military personnel on the ground, automatically.
‘The British do it, so that’s it…’
Last year, Russia claimed to have confiscated an intact Storm Shadow missile supplied by the British as a “war trophy.”
The missile was seen in images with minor damage after being shot down in a cornfield near Berdyansk before being stuffed into a Russian vehicle.
The timing of the Storm Shadow missile attack on the Chongar Bridge in June last year. Ukraine used the British-supplied missile to destroy the key bridge between Crimea and Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine’s Kherson region.
Putin said there could be an “asymmetric response” if long-range Western missiles deployed by Ukraine hit Russian territory.
Until now, these weapons have been used only to attack areas of Ukraine invaded by Russia, but kyiv now has permission for attacks within Putin’s borders.
Putin made it clear that he was also willing to supply weapons as NATO countries had done, but in his case to enemies of Britain and other Western countries.
He asked: ‘What should we do in response?
«First of all, of course, we will improve our air defense systems. We will destroy them.
“Secondly, we think that if someone considers it possible to supply such weapons to a war zone to attack our territory and create problems for us, then why don’t we have the right to supply our weapons of the same class to those regions of the world where they will attack sensitive facilities of those countries that are doing this to Russia?
‘So the answer could be asymmetrical. We will think about this.”
Putin did not specify exactly to whom he planned to supply weapons.
‘If we see that these countries are drawn into a war against the Russian Federation, then we reserve the right to act in the same way.
“In general, this is the path to very serious problems,” he said.
Regarding nuclear war, he warned the West not to turn a blind eye to the risk.
Russia’s nuclear doctrine allowed the use of tactical – or battlefield – nuclear weapons, he said.
“For some reason, the West believes that Russia will never use it,” the dictator said.
‘We have a nuclear doctrine, look what it says.
‘If someone’s actions threaten our sovereignty and territorial integrity, we consider it possible to use all means at our disposal.
“This should not be taken lightly or superficially.”
The doctrine dating back to 2020 says Russia could press the button in response to an attack with nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction, or to the use of conventional weapons against Russia “when the very existence of the state is threatened.”
It comes after Russia claimed last year to have confiscated an intact Storm Shadow missile supplied by the British as a “war trophy”.
The missile was seen in images with minor damage after being shot down in a cornfield near Berdyansk before being stuffed into a Russian vehicle.
“The enemy tried to prevent us from capturing such a trophy and delivering it safely (to Russia) by sending its fighter group to intercept it,” said former head of the Russian Space Agency, Dmitry Rogizin.
“The missile has just been delivered to one of our defense companies, whose specialists will decipher the algorithms of the control system of this dangerous missile weapon and share them with air defense experts,” he added.
A month earlier, in June 2023, Ukraine used a Storm Shadow missile supplied by Britain to hit a key bridge between Crimea and Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine’s Kherson region, pro-Moscow sources said at the time.
Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-appointed governor of Kherson, said Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles were likely used in the attack, which damaged the road at the Chongar Bridge.
