It is better not to mess with Russia
Putin’s nuclear warning to West on Ukraine
VLADIMIR Putin last night pointed to Russia’s nuclear arsenal and warned the West: ‘It’s best not to mess with us’ on Ukraine.
In a menacing intervention, the Russian president denied Nato, British and American reports that Russian forces are operating in eastern Ukraine.
And he warned the West against any attempt to support Ukraine in its efforts to defeat Russian separatists. Speaking at a pro- Kremlin youth camp near Moscow, he said: ‘ Russia’s partners... should understand it’s best not to mess with us.
‘Thank God, I think no one is thinking of unleashing a largescale conflict with Russia. I want to remind you that Russia is one of the leading nuclear powers.’ Mr Putin also launched an astonish- ing verbal assault on the Ukrainian government, comparing it to the Nazis and saying its actions in the east of the country ‘sadly reminds me of the events of the Second World War, when German fascist... occupiers surrounded our cities’.
Russia is one of five countries which has nuclear weapons as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Mr Putin has the second largest stockpile of warheads in the world – 4,300 according to the latest estimates from the Federation of American Scientists.
Of those, approximately 1,600 are long-range land and sea-based ballistic missiles.
The US has an estimated 4,765, Britain has 225, France 300 and China 250. Of other counties thought
‘Situation is now out of control’
to have nuclear weapons – India, Pakistan and Israel are thought to have fewer than 100 and North Korea fewer than ten.
British intelligence believes Russia has made a significant incursion into Ukraine, involving at least 1,000 regular troops fighting alongside proRussian militias on the ground.
British sources said Russia had supplied 100 battle tanks, 80 armoured personnel carriers, 500 anti-tank weapons and 100 artillery pieces to separatists.
Ukraine’s Ambassador at Large Oleksandr Scherba appealed to the West for military help. ‘We want the West to understand Ukraine is fighting Europe’s war,’ he said.
‘There is only one thing that separates your people driving to their jobs and a full relapse into a Cold War – and that is young Ukrainian volunteer soldiers.’ Government sources said David Cameron would press for tough new sanctions on Russia at a summit of EU leaders in Brussels today. But military intervention is not being contemplated.
The crisis in Ukraine is also now set to dominate next week’s Nato summit in Newport, south Wales.
Ukraine yesterday said it was seeking Nato membership – a request the military alliance said it would treat ‘respectfully’.
Nato accused Russia of a ‘blatant violation’ of Ukraine’s sovereignty, saying the crisis ‘defies all diplomatic efforts for a peaceful solution’. On Thursday the alliance released satellite photos of Russian self-propelled artillery units moving inside Ukraine last week.
Secretary- General Anders Fogh Rasmussen yesterday said that ‘despite hollow denials’, it was now clear that Russian forces had illegally crossed Ukraine’s border.
German foreign minister FrankWalter Steinmeier said: ‘All our hopes of de- escalation have been disappointed and the situation is showing signs that it is now out of control.’
Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said: ‘If it looks like a war, sounds like a war and kills like a war, it is a war.’ Sweden’s foreign minister Carl Bildt warned: ‘This is the second invasion of Ukraine in a year. We have to call a spade a spade and stop playing around.’
Meanwhile, heavily armed proRussia separatists held firm control of the strategic coastal town of Novoazovsk yesterday.
At least half a dozen tanks were seen in the town of about 12,000 people, bearing the flags of Novorossiya, the ‘state’ proclaimed by rebels in two eastern Ukraine regions.
None of the tanks bore Russian markings, but ready-made meals seen nearby had markings showing they were Russian army issue.