Putin insists he does NOT care about Finland and Sweden joins NATO and denied that he had bombed the Ukrainian mall
Putin humiliates to save face when Sweden and Finland join NATO: Russian leaders say countries “can do whatever they want” – and insist his army did NOT bomb the Ukrainian mall
- Putin insists he does not care if neighboring Finland and Sweden join NATO
- But he spoke out against its “imperialist ambitions” and tried to assert “supremacy”
- He also denied that his army had struck the mall in Ukraine, killing 18 civilians
- He spoke in the Turkmen capital Ashgabat for the VI Caspian summit
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has reaffirmed that he has “no problem” with neighboring Finland and Sweden joining NATO, while denying the alliance’s “imperialist ambitions” and trying to assert “supremacy”.
His statements come when NATO formally invited Finland and Sweden to join the alliance after Turkey closed down its opposition, while announcing that it will increase troops on its eastern flank by almost 4,000 compared to March this year.
Moscow reacted angrily to the news of NATO’s expansion, saying it would be “destabilizing” for Europe.
“Ukraine and the well-being of the Ukrainian people are not the goal of the collective West and NATO, but a way of defending their own interests,” Putin told reporters in Turkmenistan’s capital, Ashgabat.
“The leaders of NATO countries want to … assert their supremacy, their imperialist ambitions,” he added.
Putin also denied responsibility for the missile attack on the Kremenchuk mall earlier this week, which killed at least 18 people, with dozens still missing.
‘Our army is not attacking any civilian infrastructure site. We have every opportunity to know what lies where, Putin said at a press conference in the Turkmen capital Ashgabat.
The Russian autocrat was there for the VI Caspian summit of leaders from Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to discuss “current issues of cooperation in the Caspian Sea”.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has reassured that he has “no problem” with neighboring Finland and Sweden joining NATO, while denying the alliance’s “imperialist ambitions” and trying to assert “supremacy”.
Putin was in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan to attend the VI Caspian summit with the presidents of Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan
From left: President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdymukhamedov, President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the VI Caspian Summit
As many as 1,000 people were feared to have been inside when it met. Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky condemned Russia’s actions as “one of the most daring terrorist attacks in European history”. Russia has accused Ukraine of staging the attack.
Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for Russia’s Defense Ministry, said its military had launched a “high-precision airstrike on hangars where weapons and ammunition were stored,” and that the explosion of those weapons stockpiles caused a fire in the nearby mall, he said. was “non-functioning” at the time.
Russian denials have been met with skepticism and rejected by many open-source media and intelligence analysts.
There is even a video of CCTV showing a large missile hitting the mall at 3:51 p.m. on Monday.
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