1:02 p.m
Clashes between Kiev and Moscow forces on Russian territory
Firefights between Moscow and Ukrainian forces are underway on Russian territory near the border with Ukraine in the Belgorod region, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. The fighting took place in the Krasnoyaruzhsky district, in the village of Terebreno, Gladkov said, quoted by the Interfax agency. The governor added that power lines were damaged in several villages.
1:01 p.m
Putin: “The West dragged Finland into NATO”
The West “pulled Finland into NATO.” Vladimir Putin said this in an interview published today, in which he announced further militarization of the over 1,300 kilometer border he shares with the Scandinavian country. “There will be no problems because we will create a military district in Leningrad and concentrate a certain number of military units.” Putin's words come on the eve of the defense agreement that Finland will sign with the United States tomorrow, giving them better access to border areas make possible. The pact will “facilitate the organization of operations in peacetime, but is particularly crucial in the event of a crisis,” said Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen.
1:00 pm
Putin: “The West must find common ground with Russia”
“The West will have to find common ground with Russia because it has to take Russia into account” and Moscow, in turn, is interested in good relations with the NATO countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin said this in an interview on Rossiya-1 television broadcast by Russian agencies. Russia, Putin said, has no interest in attacking NATO countries, as American President Joe Biden said. “We have no mutual territorial disputes with them and have no desire to ruin our relations with them. “We are interested in developing relations,” Putin concluded.
09:17
Putin: “Attack NATO? Biden’s nonsense”
US President Joe Biden's claims that Russia could attack NATO countries if it wins the war in Ukraine are “nonsense”. Russian President Vladimir Putin said this. Biden only wants to justify his policy with this because Russia has “no interest in fighting NATO, neither geopolitically, economically nor militarily,” Putin added in an interview on Rossiya-1 television of the Ria Novosti agency.
09:11
Putin: “I was naive about the West”
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that in the first years of his term he was “naïve” about the intentions of Western countries aimed at the “disintegration” of Russia, as happened with the USSR. In an interview with Rossiya-1 television, reported by Tass, Putin said that former US national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski had a plan to “split Russia into five parts and exploit its resources.”