Putin says Western sanctions against Russia are like a "declaration
of war"
The russian president also stated that any country that tries to impose a no-fly zone
in Ukraine will be considered as part of the conflict.
in Ukraine will be considered as part of the conflict.
President Vladimir Putin said, on Saturday (5), that sanctions applied by Western
countries against Russia are akin to a declaration of war and warned that any
attempt to impose a no-fly zone in Ukraine would be equivalent to entering the
conflict.
Putin reiterated that his goals in Ukraine are to defend Russian-speaking
communities by "demilitarizing and denazifying" the country to make it neutral.
Ukraine and Western countries denied this and treated it as an unfounded pretext for
the invasion he launched on February 24 and imposed a wide range of sanctions
designed to isolate Moscow.
"These sanctions that are being imposed are akin to a declaration of war, but thank
God it has not come to that," Putin said, speaking to a group of flight attendants at an
Aeroflot training center near Moscow.
He said that any attempt by another world power to impose a no-fly zone in Ukraine
would be considered by Russia as a step into the military conflict.
"We will consider them [these countries] immediately as participants in a military
conflict, and it doesn't matter which members of which organizations they are," Putin
said.
"It is impossible to do it on the territory of Ukraine itself. It is only possible from the
territory of some neighboring states. But any move in that direction will be
considered by us as participation in an armed conflict," the Russian president added.
NATO has rejected Kiev's request for a no-fly zone, claiming that this would escalate
the war beyond Ukraine.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that the establishment of a no-fly
zone in Ukraine by the United States and its NATO allies could lead to a "full-fledged
war in Europe," but added that Washington will continue to work with its allies to
provide Ukrainians with the means to defend themselves from Russian aggression.
Also on Saturday, Putin said that no conscripts were involved in the military
operation, which he said was being carried out only by professional soldiers.
operation, which he said was being carried out only by professional soldiers.
"There is no conscript and we do not plan for there to be any", Putin said. "Our army
will fulfill all the tasks. I have no doubt about that. Everything is going as planned."
Putin rejected concerns that some kind of martial law or emergency situation might
be declared in Russia. He said that such a measure was imposed only when there
was a significant internal or external threat.
"We do not plan to introduce any kind of special regime on Russian territory - there is
currently no need," Putin said.
His government suppressed protests in Russia against the war.
Source (Portuguese): CNN Brasil (03/05/2022)
