UK warns Russia against ‘strategic mistake’ over Ukraine

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UK warns Russia against ‘strategic mistake’ over Ukraine


Caution from London comes as Putin calls for an ‘immediate response’ from Kyiv’s Western allies over security demands.



The Kremlin has denied it plans to invade neighbouring Ukraine [Press Service of the 92nd Separate Mechanized Brigade/Handout via Reuters]

23 Dec 2021

The United Kingdom’s foreign secretary has warned Moscow that any Russian incursion into neighbouring Ukraine would be a costly mistake as tensions continue to rise following a recent troop build-up near the border.

“Any Russian incursion would be a massive strategic mistake and would be met with strength, including coordinated sanctions with our allies to impose a severe cost on Russia’s interests and economy,” Liz Truss said in a statement on Thursday.

She added the “only way out of the current situation” for Russia was through dialogue and welcomed indications from Moscow that it is willing to hold talks with the United States early next year in Geneva.

The Kremlin has denied suggestions made by Kyiv and its Western allies, which include the US and the UK, that it plans to invade Ukraine after mobilising tens of thousands of troops near the shared border, marking the second such mass military deployment this year.

Instead, it says the security situation in the region has been undermined by the expansion of the US-headed NATO transatlantic security alliance and Ukraine’s growing ties with the body – developments that Moscow claims threaten Russia and contravene assurances given to it as the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

Moscow makes security demands

Last week, Moscow presented the West with sweeping security demands, calling on NATO to deny membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet countries, as well as roll back military deployments in Central and Eastern Europe.

Many of Russia’s proposals, which would require the withdrawal of US and allied forces from central and eastern European countries that joined NATO after 1997, are seen as non-starters in the West.

But Washington and NATO have said they will discuss the package with Russia early next year, aware that outright rejection could further inflame the crisis over Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Moscow did “not want” war with its neighbour, but needs an “immediate” response from the US and its allies to its demands for security guarantees.

“This is not our choice, we do not want this,” he told reporters at his annual marathon news conference when asked about the possibility of conflict.

Putin said Russia had received a generally positive initial response to the proposals it handed to the US and that he was hopeful about the prospect for negotiations.

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Putin Demands Quick Answers on Russian Security Concerns

At a traditional year-end news conference, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia blamed the West for talk of “war, war, war,” but did not markedly escalate tensions further.



By Anton Troianovski and Andrew E. Kramer
Dec. 23, 2021
Updated 12:37 p.m. ET

MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia delivered sharp criticism of the West on Thursday for rising military tensions in Eastern Europe, saying that Moscow was not to blame for talk of “war, war, war” because it was merely defending historically Russian territories.

He said that the Biden administration had agreed to hold talks with Russia on Moscow’s security concerns starting in January, calling it a positive sign, but added that Russia would expect quick answers on its demands.

“It was the United States that came with its missiles to our home, to the doorstep of our home,” he said, referring to NATO expansion. “And you demand from me some guarantees. You should give us guarantees. You! And right away, right now.”

Mr. Putin’s comments, at a traditional year-end news conference, were being closely watched after a drumbeat of warnings from Moscow about a potential escalation of military conflict in Ukraine. Two days earlier, Mr. Putin told a gathering of security officials that he was ready to take “military technical measures,” a reference to a possible use of force, if Russia’s security requests went unmet.

Still, after weeks of ominous rhetoric, Mr. Putin did not seize the opportunity of his marquee annual appearance to markedly escalate things further. His comments largely echoed a list of demands laid out last week by Russian diplomats as Russian troops mass near the border with Ukraine.

What distinguished his appearance on Thursday was its appeal to a domestic audience watching live on Russian television, as he focused on what he described as threats to Russians and Russian speakers inside Ukraine.


A Ukrainian soldier this month on the front lines in Avdiivka, in eastern Ukraine.Credit...Brendan Hoffman for The New York Times

“Now, they tell us, ‘war, war, war,’” Mr. Putin said of the West, conveying the sense that a Western-aligned Ukraine, not Russia, intended to set off conflict. “The impression is they are planning” a military operation, he said. “And we are warned in advance, ‘Don’t get involved, don’t meddle, don’t defend these people.’ If you defend, these sanctions will follow.”

Russia has already intervened militarily in Ukraine. After street protesters deposed a pro-Russia president in 2014, Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula and fomented a separatist uprising in two provinces in eastern Ukraine. At least 13,000 soldiers and civilians on both sides have died in a conflict that has continued on Ukraine’s eastern border.
Mr. Putin began his appearance by focusing on domestic issues like the economy and the coronavirus. He asserted that Russia had handled the economic challenges of the virus better than other major economies, though he acknowledged a cost in lives lost and a drop in life expectancy last year. He also noted what he said were positive economic indicators, including good results in construction and a good harvest.

When finally asked for a “realistic prognosis” of whether Russians could expect a war this winter, Mr. Putin said he would try to answer “in a maximally short way,” but nonetheless laid out a historical justification for possible use of force, going back more than 100 years.

He argued that lands that should be seen as historically part of Russia were included in the Soviet-era boundaries of Ukraine. After the Soviet breakup, Mr. Putin said, Moscow acquiesced to their loss, so long as Ukraine was neutral. But he said Russia could not tolerate the basing of foreign militaries in these areas.

“They are creating on this territory an anti-Russia, with the constant sending over of contemporary weapons, brainwashing the population,” Mr. Putin said. “Imagine the historical perspective of Russia for living from now on, to be always looking over our shoulders, what is going on over there?”


Russian military vehicles during exercises on Wednesday in the Rostov region, on Ukraine’s eastern border with Russia.Credit...Sergey Pivovarov/Reuters

United States intelligence agencies have said that Russia has tens of thousands of troops near the Ukrainian border, with plans to amass an invasion force of up to 175,000 soldiers. They have also said it is not yet clear whether Mr. Putin has decided to invade.

Russian diplomats detailed their demands on Eastern Europe — including a written pledge from NATO not to expand east — in two ultimatums last week directed at the United States and the alliance.

The proposals suggested establishing a Cold War-style security arrangement in Europe based on spheres of influence. While NATO rejected the demand to close its doors to new members, the Biden administration has agreed to negotiate broadly, offering a possible path to unwinding the tensions.

Analysts have also weighed the possibility that Mr. Putin is looking for concessions on a range of issues, even some not directly tied to security. These include energy and pipeline negotiations in Europe.

That means that what Russia wants, exactly, has become something of a guessing game — leaving diplomats and security analysts hanging on every word from Mr. Putin this winter.

Mr. Putin’s marathon year-end news conferences are a longtime tradition, meant to demonstrate his stamina and authority as he answers questions for hours on end. They have also been a stage for policy pronouncements.

In his remarks on the pandemic, Mr. Putin said he had no plans to impose fines on or to criminally prosecute people hesitant to be vaccinated, though Russia has one of the lowest levels of vaccination in Europe, at 56 percent of the population. The government has not introduced vaccine mandates, and Mr. Putin said on Thursday that mandates would be counterproductive.


October in Moscow. Mr. Putin said he had no plans to impose fines on or to criminally prosecute people hesitant to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.Credit...Emile Ducke for The New York Times

“We need to relate to people with respect, despite their positions,” he said, “and to patiently explain” the need to inoculate.

Possibilities for an escalation with Ukraine abound. Mr. Putin, speaking at an event with Defense Minister Sergey K. Shoigu on Tuesday, ruminated on the possibility that the United States had long-term plans to deploy hypersonic missiles in Ukraine, something that the United States has never suggested it intends to do.

“What they are now doing on the territory of Ukraine, or trying to do, or planning to do, is not thousands of kilometers from our national borders,” Mr. Putin said. “It’s on the doorstep of our home. They just have to understand that we have nowhere left to retreat.”

Anton Troianovski reported from Moscow, and Andrew E. Kramer from Kyiv, Ukraine.

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Putin Continues to Raise the Pressure

By Bohdan Nahaylo. Published Dec. 23 at 7:06 pm


Russian President Vladimir Putin holds his annual press conference at the Manezh exhibition hall in central Moscow on December 23, 2021. (Photo by NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA / AFP)

There were no surprises today when Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered his annual marathon news conference.

Here are the main takeaways concerning Ukraine.

Putin continued in his bellicose tone to demand from the West that it promptly deliver “security guarantees” on Russia’s terms, and at Ukraine’s expense, and to demonize Kyiv and Ukraine’s democratic European self-identification.

The Russian president claimed it was impossible for Moscow to have good relations with the present Ukrainian leadership, alleging that President Volodymyr Zelensky is being manipulated by “radical nationalist forces.”

“This is not our choice, we do not want this,“

he told reporters when asked about the possibility of a new war.

Putin again denied that Russia is an aggressor in eastern Ukraine and blamed Kyiv for supposedly breaking its commitments under the Minsk accords of 2014-15 Moscow sees itself as a “mediator” in the internal “Ukrainian” conflict between Kyiv with the inhabitants of eastern Ukraine.

The Russian leader reiterated his warning to the West that “any further NATO expansion eastward is unacceptable” and accused Washington of placing weaponry unacceptably close to Russia’s borders.

“Is it us who are putting missiles near the US borders?” he said. “No, it’s the US who came to our home with their missiles. They are already on the threshold of our home. Is it some excessive demand not to place any offensive systems near our home?”

Needless to say, he made no mention of Russian missiles deployed in Russia’s western Kaliningrad region, or in Russian-occupied Crimea and Russia’s militarization of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, nor of Ukraine’s right to self-determination and security guarantees of its own

In short, Putin is continuing to play for the highest stakes through reckless brinkmanship and extortion. Whether this is bluff and maneuvering to secure concessions or militarism out of control will be seen in the coming day or weeks.

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Putin's End-of-Year Press Conference: What He Discussed

Tensions with the West over NATO's presence in the former Soviet space cast a long shadow over the annual conference.



Russian President Vladimir Putin held his annual end-of-year press conference in Moscow on Thursday as soaring tensions with the West over Ukraine have sparked fears of an all-out war.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, media outlets were not able to apply for accreditation to the event for the first time since it was first held in 2001. Instead, the Kremlin hand-picked around 500 international and domestic journalists to participate. A number of critical independent outlets, including Novaya Gazeta — whose chief editor shared the Nobel Peace Prize this year — said they received no invite.

In addition to the Ukraine crisis, journalists questioned Putin on topics ranging from Russia's crackdown on civil society and the coronavirus pandemic’s effect on the economy to his relationship with Russian Santa Claus in the nearly four-hour event.

Here are the key topics he addressed:

On tensions with the West over Ukraine

Several questions were dedicated to the situation with Ukraine, with Putin railing against Kiev and its Western allies for causing the recent surge in tensions and demanding that the West give Russia security guarantees “right now.”

But he expressed optimism toward talks with Washington on Moscow’s series of proposed security guarantees that seek to shut NATO out of much of the post-Soviet world.

He called the current negotiations with the U.S. “positive” and hinted at fresh direct talks in Geneva in the new year, saying: “The ball is in their court.”

The West accuses Russia of plotting to invade Ukraine, which has been battling pro-Moscow separatists in its eastern Donbass region since 2014.













Asked about the situation with Ukraine and whether a war was realistic, Putin replied that Russia was responding to threats from Kiev. He called the 2014 Maidan Revolution a “bloody coup d’etat” and accused Ukrainian “extremists” of planning operations to retake Crimea and the Donbass.

“We must think about the prospects of our own security. We have to keep an eye on what is happening in Ukraine, and on when they might attack,” he says.

Putin referred emotionally to the plight of Donbass’ inhabitants and stressed that the region’s residents alone should determine its future, adding that Russia was ready to act as a mediator to "create a better future for the people living there.”

Putin claimed that Ukraine “refuses to talk” to Donbass representatives and pointed a finger at Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who he said rose to power on promises to end the war and implement the Minsk Accords but had since “come under the influence of radical elements.”

In response to a question about Moscow’s tensions with the West, Putin said his country’s actions will not depend on talks with the U.S. on his proposed security guarantees, but on the “unconditional provision of Russia's security.”

He stressed that NATO’s expansion to the east was “unacceptable” and continued to slam the U.S., which he said “brazenly lied” about NATO’s “five waves of expansion.”

“The U.S. is placing rockets at our doorstep... How would the U.S. react if we delivered rockets near their borders with Canada or Mexico?” he said.

On the coronavirus


Medical specialists transport a patient outside a hospital for people infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Moscow, Russia October 13, 2021. REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva/File Photo

With the second year of the pandemic coming to a close and Russia’s excess death toll among the highest in the world, the coronavirus was a constant presence through the press conference.

Putin bemoaned Russia’s low vaccination rate — currently at around 45% of adults after a year-long vaccination campaign — and blamed it for the country’s Covid-19 death rate, itself one of the world’s highest.

Polls have shown that a consistent, though decreasing, majority of Russians are suspicious of the vaccine and do not plan to inoculate themselves.

However, Putin reiterated his long-standing opposition to vaccine mandates, saying that those reluctant to vaccinate should be treated “respectfully” and have the issue “explained” to them.

Nonetheless, the president singled out critics of vaccination, who he accused of using the issue to bolster their public profile and of being “dishonest.” Russia’s Communist Party opposition has been leveraging anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown sentiment into a modest increase in its own opinion polling in recent months.

On the economy



The first few questions of the press conference were dedicated to Russia’s economy, which has recovered to its pre-coronavirus state but has slowed in recent months.

Putin said Russia had recovered better from the pandemic compared to many developed countries, listed off a number of economic statistics and said he expected real incomes — which are around 10% lower than they were in 2013 — to rise by 3.5% this year. But he listed growing inflation and the country’s demographic situation as major challenges facing the economy.

Inflation is currently at a six-year high of 8.4% and he said Russian business figures complain to him every day about the high interest rates introduced by the Central Bank to tame price risis. However, he defended the Central Bank’s policy and its independence.

“You can ‘scold’ the Central Bank for raising rates — as representatives of the real economy do, not on camera, but at meetings with me — but if you do not do this, it will be like in Turkey,” Putin said, referring to the Turkish lira’s extreme volatility in recent weeks after its Central Bank cut interest rates despite high inflation.

The president also said Gazprom was not to blame for record gas prices in Europe and called on countries to sign long-term agreements with the Russian state-controlled gas company if it wants to ensure stable supplies at fixed prices.

“With long-term contracts, prices are three, four, or even seven times cheaper,” Putin says. Europe has in recent years moved towards shorter-term agreements which give more flexibility, but require buying more gas at market prices. “I see these accusations that Gazprom has not booked extra capacity on the Yamal-Europe route. This is because buyers have not made any purchase orders.”

On cancel culture



Putin repeated his long-standing disdain of Western “liberal” values and defended so-called “traditional values” in response to a question from the state-run RT broadcaster on cancel culture and the controversy surrounding "Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling’s comments on transgender people.

“I adhere to the traditional approach — a woman is a woman, a man is a man, a mother is a mother, a father is a father,” Putin said, adding that he hoped that Russians had enough defenses against gender-fluid "obscurantism.”

In his answer, Putin said cancel culture was "like the coronavirus,” with new variants frequently appearing,” adding that following traditional values was Russia’s proposed “antidote.”

On Navalny’s poisoning and Russia’s civil society crackdown



Putin urged Western governments to “turn a page” on jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s poisoning and sought civil society’s help in investigating torture cases across Russian prisons.

He claimed without evidence that Western countries have failed to provide proof of Navalny’s August 2020 poisoning with the Novichok nerve agent in Siberia.

“Give us a reason to open a criminal case. But if there’s nothing to answer, let’s turn this page,” Putin said. “That Novichok or whatever it is — at least give us [samples],” Putin said.

Putin hinted that Navalny serves “foreign interests” that he compared to figures who “destroyed” the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union “from the inside,” and accused the activist of using politics as a “shield” from his criminal conviction.

Navalny returned to Russia in early 2021, where he was promptly sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for violating parole while in recovery abroad.

When asked about Russia's labeling of independent media and NGOs as "foreign agents" this year, he said that such legislation originated in the U.S. in the 1930s and claimed that Russia's "foreign agents" law is more liberal than its Western equivalents.

Putin also addressed the high-profile video leaks showing alleged rape and torture inside Russia’s prison system that drew nationwide attention this year.

After claiming that prison torture also exists in the United States and France, Putin said Russian authorities have opened 17 criminal cases following the torture leaks.

“It should be clear to everyone that punishment for these offenses is inevitable,” he said, adding that the investigations “should of course use the capabilities of civil society.”

On Russia’s foreign policy



In addition to the host of reporters from domestic media, Putin took questions from British, Italian, Kazakh, Chinese and Belarusian outlets. In answers to the latter three, he stressed Russia’s strong, friendly economic and cultural relations with their respective countries.

To an Italian reporter, Putin said that despite Italy’s membership in NATO and the EU, he hoped for ongoing cooperation with the country in various spheres. Meanwhile, he slammed a reporter from Britain’s Sky News for what he said was the West’s hostile foreign policy toward Russia.

When asked about Russia’s relations with the new Taliban regime in Afghanistan, he did not say whether Russia would recognize the new government in Kabul, but said he hoped the situation in the country would be stable and warned against the penetration of extremists into the bordering Central Asian republics. He also called on the West to unfreeze Afghanistan’s financial assets, saying the country is on the brink of a widespread humanitarian crisis.

Putin also discussed closer integration with Belarus and its embattled leader Alexander Lukashenko. Moscow and Minsk are working on a number of proposals to closer integrate the two countries, as Russia has become Belarus’ key financial and political supporter amid widespread international isolation of the Lukashenko regime over the past year.

“We are building a ‘Union State,’” Putin said, but noted that the level of integration between Russia and Belarus was “at a much lower level than that in the European Union. It’s incomparable.”

On Father Frost



In an unexpected turn of events, Putin was asked about his relationship with Father Frost ⁠— the Russian version of Santa Claus. The question was asked by a journalist based in Veliky Ustyug ⁠— a town in northwest Russia that is home to the mythical figure.

Putin thanked Father Frost for having helped him become president and urged the mythical figure to help carry out Moscow's plans.

"My relationship with Father Frost has always developed in a good way," Putin said.

"I am grateful to him that I can meet with you in my capacity…I can advocate for Father Frost and remind the plaintiff that Father Frost only fulfils the wishes of boys and girls who have been good."

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Putin blames the West for growing tensions during end-of-year news conference

By Luke McGee and Anna Chernova, CNN

Updated 1758 GMT (0158 HKT) December 23, 2021



London and Moscow (CNN)Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the ball is in NATO's court when asked about increasing fears of war in Ukraine during his annual press conference on Thursday morning.

In response to a blunt question on whether Russia will invade Ukraine, Putin said: "How would the Americans react if on their frontier with Canada we deployed our missiles ... it's a question of security and you know our red lines."

Putin was addressing the build-up of Russian forces on the Ukrainian border over the past few months. He said that it was simply a response to NATO's expansion towards the east and that he would continue to act in Russia's interest.

"They just deceived us blatantly. Five waves of NATO expansion. And there you go -- they're now in Romania and Poland, with weapons systems," Putin said.



Russian President Vladimir Putin holds his annual press conference at the Manezh exhibition hall in central Moscow on December 23, 2021.

He added that Russia does "not want any military action" but pointed the finger at the US and NATO," he said "we asked directly that there should be no further NATO movement to the East. The ball is in their court." He later added, "I feel like we are on different planets sometimes."

Putin was also asked about his country's emerging alliance with China. He noted that China and Russia are increasing trade with one another, collaborating on human rights and tackling climate change.

Perhaps more alarmingly for some Western observers, he said that "China has one of the most advanced technological armies and we are working with them to develop high precision weaponry."

Putin was asked by international media about common criticisms of his regime. When questioned about the imprisoned opposition leader Alexey Navalny and his alleged poisoning, the Russian President said that neither Germany nor France -- both countries that have condemned Putin for the treatment of his opponent -- have been able to provide evidence of poisoning. He then criticized the US and the UK for having less liberal laws than Russia, incorrectly claiming that the US is criminalizing citizens who do not get vaccinated.



Kolya, a Ukrainian soldier, uses a hand-held periscope to view the positions of Russian-backed forces from a building on the front line on December 8, 2021 in Marinka, Ukraine.

When asked about accusations that Gazprom, the majority Russian state-owned gas company, was choking supplies to Europe causing a surge in prices, he said "they're lying all the time in the West about this."

Putin said that Gazprom was fulfilling all of its contracts, then accused Germany of selling on Russian gas to Poland at an increased price. He criticized the European Union for causing "panic, panic, panic" over Russian gas exports.

The Russian President appeared eager to speak about his domestic agenda, saying "let's not get bogged down in the international agenda... let's go to the regions," before taking questions from local media.

Naturally, many of the questions focused on Russia's response to the Covid-19 pandemic and fears over the Omicron variant.

Putin said that he hopes Russia will reach up to 80% herd immunity in 2022. He said that the current level of 59.4% collective immunity in the country is insufficient.

"This refers to both our citizens who have recovered and who were vaccinated. Here, about 70 million got the first vaccine, about 70 million-plus got two injections, but this is not enough," he told reporters.

When talking about the threat posed by the Omicron variant, Putin added that the pandemic cannot be solved without global vaccine distribution.

"I am talking about the need for mutual recognition of vaccines and the distribution of these vaccines around the world as quickly as possible and in as large quantities as possible, otherwise we will not cope
with this problem globally, humanity will live with it all the time and suffer huge losses," he said.

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Putin urges West to act quickly to offer security guarantees

Since 2014 the Russia-Ukrainian conflict has killed over 14,000 people



Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the West on Thursday to move quickly to meet Russia’s demand for security guarantees precluding NATO’s expansion to Ukraine and the deployment of the military alliance’s weapons there.

Speaking during a marathon annual news conference, the Russian leader welcomed talks that are set to start in Geneva next month, but sternly warned that Moscow expects the discussion to produce quick results.

"We have clearly and precisely let them know that any further NATO expansion eastward is unacceptable," Putin said.

Last week, Moscow submitted draft security documents demanding that NATO deny membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet countries and roll back the alliance’s military deployments in Central and Eastern Europe. A key principle of the NATO alliance is that membership is open to any qualifying country.

"Is it us who are putting missiles near the U.S. borders?" Putin said. "No, it’s the U.S. who came to our home with their missiles. They are already on the threshold of our home. Is it some excessive demand not to place any offensive systems near our home?"

Moscow presented its demand amid soaring tensions over a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine that has stoked fears of a possible invasion. U.S. President Joe Biden warned Putin in a conference call earlier this month that Russia will face "severe consequences" if it attacks Ukraine.

Putin previously denied having plans to launch an attack but has described a NATO expansion and weapons deployment in Ukraine as a "red line."


Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a news conference after his meeting with U.S President Joe Biden at the 'Villa la Grange' in Geneva, Switzerland in Geneva, Switzerland, Wednesday, June 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool) ((AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool))

Asked Thursday if he could provide a guarantee that Russia will not invade Ukraine, Putin snapped in response: "It’s you who must give us guarantees and give them immediately, now, and not have idle talk about it for decades."

"How the Americans would respond if we put our missiles on the U.S. borders with Canada or Mexico?" he exclaimed.

The U.S. and its allies have said they won’t give Russia the kind of guarantee on Ukraine that Putin wants. American officials are conferring with European allies in advance of the Geneva talks.

The Russian leader charged during his news conference that the West had "cheated, blatantly swindled" Moscow by offering verbal pledges in the 1990s not to expand NATO’s presence east and then enlarging to incorporate former Soviet bloc countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the ex-Soviet republics in the Baltics.

Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999, followed in 2004 by Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the former Soviet republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In subsequent years, Albania, Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia also joined, bringing NATO’s membership to 30 nations.

"It’s not us who threaten anyone," Putin said. "Is it us who came to the U.S. or British borders? No, they have come to us, and they now say that Ukraine will be in NATO."


U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a media conference during a NATO summit in Brussels, Monday, June 14, 2021. U.S. President Joe Biden is taking part in his first NATO summit, where the 30-nation alliance hopes to reaffirm its unity and discuss increasingly tense relations with China and Russia, as the organization pulls its troops out after 18 years in Afghanistan. (Olivier Hoslet, Pool via AP)

He accused the West of trying to make Ukraine "anti-Russia, constantly beefed up with modern weapons and brainwashing the population."

Russia can’t keep living in anticipation of looming security threats posed by possible deployment of Western weapons in Ukraine, Putin said.

"Should Russia live constantly looking back at what’s going on and what new weapon systems are put there?" he exclaimed. "We need to think about ensuring our security."

He argued that Western weapons could encourage hawkish forces in Ukraine to attempt to regain control over Russia-backed separatist regions by force and even try to reclaim Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

The Russian leader claimed that Western expressions of concern about an alleged Russian invasion could be a prelude to a possible attempt by Ukraine to launch an offensive against the rebels in the east following two botched attempts in the past.

"There is an impression that they are preparing a third military operation and warning us not to meddle," he said.

Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and shortly after cast its support behind a separatist rebellion in the country’s east. The fighting, which started more than seven years ago, has killed over 14,000 people and devastated Ukraine’s industrial heartland, known as the Donbas.

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