The new threats came from Russia’s defense minister, while Putin warned on Monday that the West had approached Russia’s “red line” with aid to Ukraine.
Russia must prepare for war with NATO, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said, further escalating bellicose rhetoric.
“The Russian Defense Ministry must be ready for any development of events, including a possible military conflict with NATO in Europe in the next decade,” Belousov said.
The Russian defense minister’s comments come as US President-elect Donald Trump called for a swift end to the fighting. Trump on Monday repeated calls for an end to the war, saying “we’re trying to stop the war, this horrible, horrible war that’s going on in Ukraine, Russia and Ukraine. We’re going to make some progress, it’s hard, it’s ugly, it’s ugly.”
Trump added that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “should be ready to make a deal.”
But Moscow shows no sign that it intends to sit down at the negotiating table to end the war it launched against Ukraine two years ago.
Belousov said Russia has taken the lead in the fighting and aims to fully capture Ukraine’s Luhansk, Zaporizhia, Kherson and Donetsk regions by next year. He claimed that Ukrainian troops are exhausted and the Russian army is advancing rapidly on all fronts.
He added that Russia managed to recruit more than 427,000 troops this year, or an average of 1,200 a day.
He also warned that Russia must prepare to fight NATO because of the threat posed by the alliance.
“This is evidenced by the decisions taken at the summit of the North Atlantic alliance held in July this year. It is also reflected in the documents of the US and other NATO countries,” the minister added.
At the same time, Putin accused the US of “scaring people with a mythical Russian threat” while sending “trainers” to help Ukraine. There is no evidence that Ukraine’s allies are sending trainers to the country, Politico notes.
“For this, we are approaching the red line, that Russia can no longer back down and is starting to respond,” Putin said.
He blamed NATO for tensions with the West.
“NATO countries are increasing their military spending and presence near the Russian border. The number of American troops in Europe has already exceeded 100,000,” Putin said.
Source :Skai
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