With a grin, Vladimir Putin warns Ukraine: the war can get more serious
- In his first public comments on a recent rout of Russian forces, the president says the plan for his ‘special military plan’ is ‘not subject to adjustment’
- Putin’s remarks come soon after the leaders of China and India expressed concerns over the situation in Ukraine
President Vladimir Putin on Friday brushed off a lightning Ukrainian counteroffensive with a smile but warned that Russia would respond more forcefully if its troops were put under further pressure.
Speaking after a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, Putin cast the invasion as a necessary step to prevent what he said was a Western plot to break Russia apart.
Moscow, he said, was in no hurry in Ukraine. And its goals remained unchanged.
“The Kyiv authorities announced that they have launched and are conducting an active counteroffensive operation. Well, let’s see how it develops, how it ends up,” Putin said with a grin.
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It was his first public comment on a rout of his forces in northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region a week ago that has prompted unusually strong public criticism from Russian military commentators.
Russia hit Ukrainian infrastructure in response – including a reservoir dam and electricity supplies – and Putin said those attacks could get worse.
“Recently, the Russian armed forces have inflicted a couple of sensitive blows. Let’s assume they’re a warning. If the situation continues to develop like this, then the response will be more serious,” he said.
Putin also said Russia was gradually taking control of new areas of Ukraine.
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Asked if what he calls the “special military operation” needed correction, he said: “The plan is not subject to adjustment.”
“The general staff considers one thing important, another thing secondary – but the main task remains unchanged, and it is being implemented,” Putin said. “The main goal is the liberation of the entire territory of Donbas.”
The Russian leader’s comments come at a time when the leaders of China and India have expressed concerns over the situation in Ukraine.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, a historic partner of Russia which has growing ties with the United States, told Putin on Friday that it was “not a time for war”.
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A day earlier, Putin raised eyebrows by noting the “concerns” of Chinese President Xi Jinping, seen as Russia’s most powerful ally on the global stage.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that such concerns put pressure on Putin to end the war.
“I think what you’re hearing from China, from India, is reflective of concerns around the world about the effects of Russia’s aggression on Ukraine, not just on the people of Ukraine,” Blinken told reporters.
“I think it increases the pressure on Russia to end the aggression.”
Meanwhile, Putin also said that despite the Ukraine war, Moscow had enough resources to mediate in a conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan after a series of border skirmishes.
The fighting ended in a ceasefire two days ago after more than 200 people were killed in the attacks linked to a decades-old struggle over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Russia is a military ally of Armenia which also strives for friendly relations with Azerbaijan.
“Under the influence of Russia, this conflict was localised. I hope this continues to be the case,” Putin said.
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Asked whether Russia had the resources to maintain its influence in the region given Moscow’s focus on the conflict in Ukraine, he replied: “As you can see, there are enough.”
But in a sign of potential challenges, a senior Armenian official expressed unhappiness with the response of a Russian-led military alliance to Yerevan’s request for help, Interfax news agency reported.
Armenia asked the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) to intervene, but so far it has just sent a fact-finding team to the region.
“We are very dissatisfied, of course. The expectations we had were not justified,” parliamentary speaker Alen Simonyan told national television, likening the CSTO to a pistol that did not shoot bullets, Interfax said.
Putin held a phone call with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Friday to discuss the clashes and Pashinyan also talked to French President Emmanuel Macron and Blinken.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
