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In a direct threat to the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday pledged “lightning-speed” attacks on any nation “interfering” in Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“If someone dares to intervene from outside and [pose] unacceptable threats of a strategic nature to Russia, they should know that our retaliatory strikes will be instantaneous,” he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he addresses the Council of Legislators at the Tauride Palace in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, April 27, 2022. (Alexander Demyanchuk, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
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Russia once faced international anger this week after hinting that Western support for Kiev could lead to a nuclear war during Russia’s more than 60-day invasion.
But despite calls from nations like the US and Britain to halt the aggressive rhetoric, Putin escalated the tough talk on Wednesday.
“We have all the tools to do this. The kind that nobody else can boast of right now,” he said, referring to Russia’s deployment of a hypersonic missile last month.
“And we won’t brag; we will use them when needed. I want everyone to know that,” he continued. “All decisions in this regard have been made.”
NATO countries and other allies have pledged continued support to Ukraine while Russia ramps up its second offensive in eastern and southern Ukraine in what defense officials say will be an even more brutal fight.
Moscow has repeatedly defended its “special military operation” in Ukraine as an attempt to “denazify” certain regions — a claim Ukraine and the West have called patently false.
Putin swears Ukraine’s war aims will be “fulfilled unconditionally”.
A Ukrainian BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher shelled a Russian troop position near Luhansk in Donbass on Sunday. (Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images)
Russia’s armed forces still have major military advances to make, and Western nations said this week they would like to see Russia not only fail in Ukraine but be incapacitated to the extent that it is unable to sustain a similar one to start the offensive again.
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But Putin redoubled his efforts, telling Russian lawmakers: “I would like to reiterate that all the tasks of the special military operation that we are conducting in Donbass and Ukraine, which was launched on February 24, will be unconditionally fulfilled.”
Russia recently extended its “military special operation” in Ukraine outside of eastern Donbass and said it will seek “full control” of eastern Ukraine – giving it better leverage to launch a campaign into neighboring Moldova next.
Fox News’ Greg Norman contributed to this report.