Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that Western sanctions on Russia amount to a declaration of war and warned that any attempt to impose a no-fly zone on Ukraine would amount to entering the conflict.
Putin reiterated that its objectives in Ukraine they are to defend Russian-speaking communities by “demilitarizing and denazifying” the country to make it neutral.
Ukraine and Western countries have rejected this as a baseless pretext for the invasion it launched on February 24 and have imposed a wide range of sanctions aimed at isolating Moscow.
“These sanctions that are being imposed are similar to a declaration of war, but thank God it has not come to that,” he said. Putinaddressing a group of stewardesses at an Aeroflot training center near Moscow.
As he indicated, any attempt by another power to impose a no-fly zone in Ukraine would be considered by Russia as a step towards military conflict. The NATO has rejected Kiev’s request to establish a no-fly zone, claiming that this would mean an escalation of the war beyond Ukraine.
Putin He said that there are no conscripts involved in the military operation, which, according to him, is being carried out only by professional soldiers.
“There is not a single conscript and we do not plan for there to be one,” Putin said. “Our army will fulfill all tasks. I do not doubt it at all. Everything is going according to plan.”
Putin dismissed concerns that some kind of martial law or emergency situation could be declared in Russia. According to him, such a measure is imposed only when there is a significant internal or external threat.
“We do not plan to introduce any kind of special regime on Russian territory; currently it is not necessary,” he said.
His government has cracked down on protests in Russia against the war.
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