Humiliated Putin struggles to save face as Sweden and Finland join NATO: Russian leader says countries ‘can join whatever they want’ – and insists his army DID NOT bomb Ukraine’s shopping mall
- Putin insists he doesn’t care if neighbors Finland and Sweden join NATO
- But he spoke out against his “imperial ambitions” and tried to assert “supremacy”.
- He also denied that his army attacked the shopping center in Ukraine, killing 18 civilians
- He spoke in the Turkmen capital Ashgabat for the VI. Caspian peak
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has reaffirmed he had “no problem” with neighboring Finland and Sweden joining NATO, while denouncing the alliance’s “imperial ambitions” and attempting to assert “supremacy”.
His comments come as NATO officially invited Finland and Sweden to join the alliance after Turkey dropped its opposition, while also announcing it will increase troops on its eastern flank by almost 4,000 compared to March this year.
Moscow reacted with anger to news of NATO expansion, saying it will be “destabilizing” for Europe.
“Ukraine and the well-being of the Ukrainian people is not the goal of the collective West and NATO, but a means of defending their own interests,” Putin told journalists in the Turkmen capital Ashgabat.
“NATO leaders want to… assert their supremacy and their imperial ambitions,” he added.
Putin also denied responsibility for the rocket attack on the Kremenchuk shopping mall earlier this week that killed at least 18 people, dozens of whom are still missing.
“Our army does not attack civilian infrastructure. We have every opportunity to know what is where,” Putin said at a press conference in the Turkmen capital Ashgabat.
The Russian autocrat was at the VI. Caspian Summit of Heads of State and Government from Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan present to discuss “topical issues of Caspian Sea cooperation”.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has reaffirmed that he has “no problem” with neighboring Finland and Sweden joining NATO, while denouncing the alliance’s “imperial ambitions” and attempting to assert “supremacy”.
Putin was in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on the VI. Attend the Caspian Summit with the Presidents of Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan
From left: Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, Turkmenistan’s President Serdar Berdymukhamedov, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the VI. Caspian Summit
It was feared that up to 1,000 people were inside when it was struck. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described Russia’s actions as “one of the most daring terrorist attacks in European history”. Russia accuses Ukraine of orchestrating the attack.
Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for Russia’s Defense Ministry, said his military fired a “high-precision airstrike on hangars storing weapons and ammunition,” and the explosion of those weapons storage facilities caused a fire at the nearby mall, he said at the time “inoperable”.
Russian denials have been met with skepticism and debunked by numerous media outlets and open-source intelligence analysts.
There is even video from CCTV showing a large rocket hitting the mall at 3.51pm Monday.