"Calm down and finally think about your own problems." This is Vladimir Putin's response to Europeans' warnings of a possible Russian attack. Something the Kremlin leader claims they don't believe either. But Moscow, he warns, will continue to study the other side's militarization path and reserves the right to provide "convincing" responses.

Putin chose the Valdai Club conference in Sochi to respond to recent European initiatives, which focus on building a "drone wall" and using frozen Russian funds to further arm Ukraine . This follows accusations that Russia is intruding with its jets and drones into the skies of EU countries, prompting Donald Tusk to say that Europe is already at war with Moscow.

"First, we must fight illusions, and the first is that we are not at war. We are," the Polish prime minister stated at the European Political Community summit in Copenhagen. "But it is a new type of war, very complex. And it is our war, and if Ukraine loses, it will also be our defeat."

Putin partially agreed with him, but he shifted the blame. "All NATO countries are at war with Russia and are making no secret of it," he declared. According to the president, NATO instructors are engaged not only in training Ukrainian forces but also in the decision-making process for the conflict. But "it is impossible to believe" that Russia intends to attack European NATO countries. According to Putin, even European governments know this, which he claims are the true supporters of all-out war. Toward Donald Trump's US administration, however, the Russian leader maintained a conciliatory tone, even though a few hours earlier his spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, had promised an "appropriate" response to Washington's decision to supply Kiev with Tomahawk cruise missiles, which, with their 2,500-kilometer range, could reach Moscow and even beyond. Russia remains committed to "fully restoring relations with the United States," Putin stressed, calling Trump's desire to safeguard "his country's interests" "rational," but warning that Moscow reserves the right to do the same.

A threat of retaliation was then directed at enemy number one. Putin accused the Kiev army of carrying out attacks near the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, under Russian control and without external power sources for over a week. And he warned: the Ukrainian authorities "still have operating power plants, nuclear power plants on their side. What would prevent us from responding?"

Then, in keeping with the tradition of the Valdai meetings, where historical and geopolitical issues are discussed with questions from the audience, Putin went back in time to lament that the current crisis has its roots in the West's refusal to accept Russia's cooperation proposals, which "twice declared its readiness to join NATO." But "without Russia, global balance cannot be guaranteed," he added, concluding with a warning: "Russia will never show weakness or indecision." "Our history has shown that weakness is unacceptable, because it creates the temptation, the illusion, that some of our problems can be resolved with force. Those who harbor dreams of inflicting a strategic defeat on us should remember this," he stated.

(Unioneonline)

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