President Vladimir Putin thinks the sanctions imposed on Russia by Western nations over their involvement in the Ukraine attack are tantamount to declaring war on Russia.
"But thank God that didn't really happen," he says.
Putin has warned that declaring a no-fly zone over Ukraine's airspace would be considered active participants in the war. If anyone does that, he will be treated as an enemy.
He made the remarks while visiting a training center at Russia's state-owned airline Aeroflot.
Rejecting the idea that martial law or a state of emergency would be declared in Russia, Vladimir Putin said that such an action would be taken only if there was aggression from outside a certain area where there is military activity.
"But that is not the case now. I hope it will not happen."
There are rumors that Putin will declare martial law and that Russian government activities will be taken over by the military.
The Western world has imposed a number of economic sanctions on Russia since Russia invaded Ukraine a decade ago. These include the seizure of several Russian banks from the international financial transaction system Swift, and the seizure of Putin's assets abroad.
In addition, several international companies have closed or restricted operations in Russia. Last Saturday, Samsung, financial institution Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, and clothing retailer Zara announced the suspension of business in Russia.
The economic implications of the sanctions have already begun to fall on Russia. The country's central bank has been forced to double interest rates.
In his latest remarks, Vladimir Putin sought to justify why Russia invaded Ukraine.
He had earlier argued that he wanted to "democratize" and "liberate Ukraine from the Nazis" in order to protect the Russian-speaking population in Ukraine.
Putin's hopes that Russia's military operation in Ukraine would be as successful as it was, however, did not materialize. Moving on. "
He said Russian civilians had been called in to fight in Ukraine and that they were in Ukraine, adding that only professional troops were taking part in the operation.
Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts to end the conflict continue.
On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with Putin in Moscow. Their discussion on the war lasted three hours.
Afterward, to meet with German Chancellor Olaf Schultz, Mr. Bennett flew from Moscow to Berlin. Olaf Shaltz, an orthodox Jew, made the trip in violation of Jewish religious tradition.
On the Poland-Ukraine border, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba. Blinken praised the way Ukraine has stood up against Russia.
Kuleba hopes to get more support from Neto, including the 'No Fly Zone' declaration.
On the other hand, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has sharply criticized NATO for not declaring Ukraine's airspace a "no-fly zone".
In an emotional speech, he said that NATO's reluctance to intervene in the war was a kind of approval for Russia to continue bombing Ukrainian villages and towns.
Source: BBC
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