On rare occasions
Putin warns Germany and threatens the entire West
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
For the first time since the invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin meets representatives of international news agencies in St. Petersburg. In response to their questions, he warns of a complete destruction of Russian-German relations – and threatens the West with an “asymmetric response.”
Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin has warned of a possible delivery of German Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, which he is attacking. “If it is now said that any missiles will appear (in Ukraine) that can carry out attacks on objects on Russian territory, then of course this will ultimately destroy Russian-German relations,” Putin said at a meeting with representatives of major international news agencies in St. Petersburg. The delivery of German tanks to Ukraine last year came as a shock to many in Russia, said the Russian President.
Putin was asked about Moscow's reaction if Berlin delivered the long-range Taurus cruise missiles to Kiev. However, Russian-German relations are already at a low point due to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. Putin did not say which areas he believed would be further “destroyed” in the case of Taurus deliveries.
The Russian president also threatened an “asymmetric response” if Russian territory was attacked by Ukraine with weapons supplied from the West. “We think that if someone considers it possible to deliver weapons to the combat zone in order to carry out attacks on our territory (…), then why should we not have the right to deploy such weapons in regions of the world where attacks on sensitive objects of those countries that do so in relation to Russia?” he said.
Then the Kremlin chief added: “That means the answer can be asymmetrical. We are thinking about it.” Putin had previously been asked by a journalist about the delivery of long-range weapons to Ukraine, which was attacked by Russia – including ATACMS missiles from the USA.
There is said to have recently been a successful attack with US HIMARS rocket launchers on an air defense system in Belgorod, Russia, near the Kharkiv region of Ukraine. Warnings and threats from the Kremlin are often the order of the day; many observers see them as a means of deterring the West from providing further support to Ukraine.
Invasion of NATO territory? “Bullshit”
Putin tried to allay concerns that Russia might invade NATO countries after the invasion of Ukraine. “You came up with the idea that Russia wants to attack NATO,” he said in response to a question. “This is nonsense, you understand. Bullshit,” claimed Putin, who denied any imperial aspirations. Before its invasion of Ukraine, Moscow had repeatedly denied its plans to attack.
During his meeting with foreign journalists, Putin also stated once again that Russia would only use its nuclear weapons in defense cases. At the same time, he said: “For whatever reason they in the West think that Russia never uses it. We have a nuclear doctrine. Look what is written there. If anyone's actions threaten our sovereignty, we believe it is possible to use all means use that we have. This cannot be taken lightly. This must be treated professionally.”
Putin on Ukrainian prisoners of war
At the event, the Kremlin chief put the number of Ukrainian prisoners of war after more than two years of invasion in the neighboring country at more than 6,000. This was significantly higher than the number of Russian soldiers and officers in Ukrainian captivity, Putin claimed. Ukraine has 1,348 Russians in captivity, while Russia has 6,365 prisoners from its neighboring country. This could not be independently verified.
In response to a question about how high Russian losses were in the war, Putin said that no party to the conflict was providing specific information. But the numbers were in a similar proportion to that of prisoners. Here too, he claimed that Ukraine suffered significantly higher losses than Russia in the war. The Ukrainian side, on the other hand, emphasizes that significantly more Russian soldiers died in the war than their own.
According to a report by the US foreign broadcaster Radio Liberty, two of Vladimir Putin's daughters, Katerina Tikhonova and Maria Vorontsova, will also speak in St. Petersburg in the coming days. Tichonowa is the general director of the company Innopraktika and will therefore be taking part in a panel discussion online. Vorontsova, a member of the Presidium of the Russian Association for the Advancement of Science, is expected to be there in person.
