Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Ukraine's accession to NATO will create a threat to Russia's security, and that this was one of the reasons for launching the special military operation.
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"As for Ukraine's accession to NATO, we have repeatedly said that this creates threats to Russia's security (...) and, in fact, one of the reasons for the special military operation is the threat of Kiev's accession to NATO," Putin was quoted as saying by the state-run TASS news agency.
The Russian president told the program, "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin." that this "will not increase Ukraine's security but, in general, will make the world more vulnerable, creating additional tensions on the international scene."
On this occasion, Putin referred to the supply of arms to Ukrainian troops. He said that there were high hopes for the delivery of long-range missiles, but although they do cause damage, "nothing critical happens with the use of missiles in the zone of hostilities."
In this regard, the president said that "from the point of view of a possible change on the battlefield, the supply of new weapons will not achieve anything; it will only aggravate the situation," which will be worse for the Ukrainian side.
According to the Russian president, since June 4, the Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 311 tanks, of which at least one third were of Western production.
Putin added that security guarantees for Ukraine are "under the obligatory condition of ensuring the security" of Russia. Every country has the right to ensure its own security; however, "in achieving the security of one country, one should not create threats to another country," the president said.
Putin's remarks follow the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, where Ukraine's inclusion in the North Atlantic Alliance was discussed and assurances were given to Kiev that its membership would be formalized once the conflict was over.