President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russians to be ‘prepared for anything’ as he hinted at escalating his war against Ukraine.
The Russian leader said this during a speech at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, signaling a further escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.
‘We must be prepared for anything,’ he said when asked if the current long fuel queues, caused by Ukrainian drone strikes on oil refineries, would subside.
‘Only our readiness for anything will give everyone who wants to harm us an understanding that it is better not to do so,’ he said.
He also pledged ‘to launch retaliatory strikes’ on Ukraine so they ‘don’t dare to harm us again’ with more oil refinery strikes that have crippled his fuel supplies.
The Russian leader’s menacing warning comes as the country has been facing a difficult summer, with nightly swarms of Ukrainian drones striking oil refineries, as well as setting ablaze retail warehouses.
In response, Russia has been ramping up its air war on Ukraine, with Moscow’s forces recently hitting food storage depots, leaving supermarket shelves empty, while also targeting civilians.
Putin also ruled out peace talks and accused Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky of ‘state terrorism’.
‘We don’t negotiate with terrorists,’ he said, citing Ukraine’s recent long-range drone strikes.
Over 43,000 Ukrainian drones were intercepted over Russia and the illegally annexed Crimea from June to August, according to Russia’s Defence Ministry.
Ukraine has not disclosed how many drones it launches, but Zelensky has talked about expanding the strikes, which he calls ‘long-range sanctions’.
