The West wants to fight “to the last Ukrainian” – a “tragedy”, says Putin. The Russian president smugly reacts to Russia’s threats: “Let them try.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned the West against a military confrontation in the context of the war in Ukraine. “Today we hear that they want to defeat us on the battlefield. What can you say about that? They should try,” he said in Moscow on Thursday. Everyone should know that Russia has not yet started in Ukraine.
Moscow does not reject peace talks. “But those who refuse should know that the further they go, the harder it will be for them to come to terms with us,” Putin said at a meeting with faction leaders from the State Duma parties.
The president praised the politicians as “true statesmen and patriots” who have supported the “special military operation” in Ukraine since it began in late February. “There are many parties, but only one homeland,” Putin told the Kremlin meeting. “There is nothing more important than the destiny of the motherland.”
“Tragedy for the Ukrainian people”
Putin again accused the West of wanting to fight “to the last Ukrainian”. “This is a tragedy for the Ukrainian people,” said the former intelligence officer. The West is waging an “economic blitzkrieg against Russia”.
Meanwhile, Ukraine is again reporting deaths and injuries from Russian bombing in the east of the country. In the Kharkov region, authorities said three people were killed and five wounded in Russian attacks on Thursday. “The enemy is sneaky, targeting residential areas and civilian infrastructure,” said regional commander Oleh Synyehubov. Battlegrounds reports cannot be independently verified.
Ukraine reports attacks on civilian targets
According to authorities, two people died and eight were injured in the cities of Kramatorsk and Avdiivka, in the Donetsk region. The Russian attacks hit only civilian targets, said the region’s governor, Pavlo Kyrylenko. Pro-Russian separatists in the Donetsk region spoke of one dead and eleven wounded by the Ukrainian bombing. Again, this could not be independently verified.
Since Russia took control of Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region, the focus of fighting has shifted to neighboring Donetsk. The cities of Kramatorsk and Slowjansk are particularly targeted by the Russian army.
(APA/dpa)