Vladimir Putin promised ‘catastrophic’ consequences for Ukraine and claimed that the Russian and Ukrainian people were ‘one nation’ in a conference this week.
The Russian president answered questions on a variety of issues at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, and said Ukraine could lose more territory if it keeps rejecting Russia’s conditions for peace.
‘I have said many times that I consider the Russian and Ukrainian people to be one nation. In this sense, all of Ukraine is ours,’ he claimed.
‘We have a saying, or a parable. Where the foot of a Russian soldier steps, that is ours.’
He also said if Ukraine used a dirty bomb against Russia, which Kyiv has repeatedly said they will not do, the consequences would be ‘catastrophic’.
‘This would be a colossal mistake on the part of those whom we call neo-Nazis on the territory of today’s Ukraine.’
The outlandish remarks come as Putin has refused to give up any land taken from Ukraine after their 2022 invasion, which sparked all-out war.
Russia has gained control over a part of Ukraine roughly the size of the state of Virginia, and is refusing to give it back, stalling peace talks.
Moscow’s claims to four Ukrainian regions and Crimea are illegal, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly rejected the notion that Russians and Ukrainians are one people.
Putin also boasted about Russia’s economic outlook at the event in St Petersburg, claiming Russia managed to curb inflation and ease its reliance on energy exports.
His remarks were a far cry from other statements by some members of his government, who warned at the same conference that Russia could face a recession.
Economic Minister Maxim Reshetnikov had said that the country is ‘on the brink of going into a recession’.
Putin mentioned the recession warnings but pointed out that manufacturing industries have posted steady growth, allowing the country to reduce its reliance on oil and gas exports.
He’s used the annual forum to highlight Russia’s economic prowess and encourage foreign investment, but Western executives have shunned it after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, leaving it to business leaders from Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Putin said the growth of military industries helped develop new technologies that have become available to the civilian sector.
He vowed to continue military modernisation, relying on lessons learned during the fighting in Ukraine.
‘We will raise the capability of the Russian armed forces, modernise military infrastructure and equip the troops with cutting-edge equipment,’ he claimed.
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