Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Western countries are openly talking about preparations for war with Russia and are increasing their military budgets.
He made this statement during a meeting with graduates of military universities.
According to him, the leadership of NATO and European Union countries use false claims of a “Russian threat” as a justification for increasing military spending.
He claimed that Ukraine is attacking civilian infrastructure in Russia to destabilize society, reports the Washington Post .
“What are these drones for, these attacks on civilian infrastructure? To shock society. Of course, with such a massive impact, when the entire West is working for them, these drones come in large numbers and create uncertainty in the actions of the Russian armed forces,” Putin said, adding that Russia will achieve “where it needs to achieve” in the framework of the operation.
The Russian dictator rejected Kiev’s recent statements of readiness for negotiations, citing an attack on Starobelsk as an example.
“They sent a letter. They keep saying: ‘We want a face-to-face meeting.’ And what happens? Three days later Starobelsk is attacked. What does this mean? What conditions are these for meetings and negotiations?” he said.
Otherwise, Putin has refused to respond to Zelensky’s calls for peace negotiations. /Telegraph/