‘EVERYONE WILL BE TURNED TO ASH..’
Putin furious at West’s Ukraine moves
VLADIMIR Putin primed Russia for war against Ukraine yesterday, with his media mouthpiece warning NATO to back off or “everyone will be turned to ash”.
The Russian president told military chiefs and defence ministers Moscow will take “military measures” in response to tension with the West – as his troops mass close to Ukraine.
Putin was referring to a Western bid to bolster Ukraine with weapons and military training.
He said: “In the event that the clearly aggressive line of our Western colleagues continues, we will take adequate retaliatory military-technical measures, and react toughly to unfriendly steps.
“And, I want to emphasise, we have every right to do so, we have every right to take actions designed to ensure the security and sovereignty of Russia.”
Last year hundreds of British paratroopers dropped into Ukraine not far from the border with Russia.
British fighter jets have been taking part in patrols above the Baltic states, warning off Russian aerial incursions, as well as off Scotland.
Around 175,000 Russian combat forces are expected to be near Ukraine’s borders by January and pro-Russian separatists are attacking Ukraine troops daily. On the frontline in Donbas, Ukraine, Russian troops have been building up in support of pro-Russian separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk region.
Putin denies any Russian involvement in the region but it is feared he will use the conflict to justify an incursion deeper into Ukraine, threatening to bring war to Europe’s borders.
Yesterday Dmitry Kiselyov, a media mogul known as Putin’s mouthpiece, warned US-led aggression could lead to a nuclear war.
He told NATO to back off, adding: “Otherwise, everyone will be turned into radioactive ash”.
Our sister paper the Mirror has recently visited the Ukraine trenches, where thousands of troops are braced for a Russian attack.
The UK is viewed as Ukraine’s closest European NATO ally, even though the former member of the Soviet bloc is not in NATO and Britain will not officially send troops to Ukraine. Unofficially, it’s understood that British special forces may b e actin g as military advisers there alongside American special operations
forces.
We have every right to ensure security & sovereignty of Russia VLADIMIR PUTIN TO HIS MILITARY AND MINISTERS