Ukraine war: Russian prez warns West on no-fly zone

Vladimir Putin also dismissed concerns that martial law or emergency situation could be declared in Russia.

London/Kyiv: President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that Western sanctions on Russia were akin to a declaration of war and warned that any attempt to impose a no-fly zone in Ukraine would be tantamount to entering the conflict.

FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the Security Council via a video link. (via REUTERS)

Putin reiterated that his aims in Ukraine are to defend Russian speaking communities through the “demilitarisation and de-Nazification” of the country so that it became neutral.

 

Ukraine and Western countries have dismissed this as a baseless pretext for the invasion he launched on February 24 and have imposed a sweeping range of sanctions aimed at isolating Moscow.

“These sanctions that are being imposed are akin to a declaration of war but thank God it has not come to that,” Putin said, speaking to a group of women flight attendants at an Aeroflot training centre near Moscow.

He said any attempt by another power to impose a no-fly zone in Ukraine would be considered by Russia to be a step into the military conflict. Nato has rejected Kyiv’s request for a no-fly zone, on the grounds it would escalate the war beyond Ukraine.

Putin dismissed concerns that some sort of martial law or emergency situation could be declared in Russia. He said such a measure was imposed only when there was significant internal or external threat.

“We don’t plan to introduce any kind of special regime on Russian territory - there is currently no need,” Putin said.

Israeli PM meets Putin for Ukraine talks

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Saturday to discuss Ukraine, his spokesman said, after Israel reportedly offered to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv.

West is behaving like a bandit: Kremlin

The Kremlin said on Saturday that the West was behaving like a bandit by cutting economic relations over the conflict in Ukraine but that Russia was far too big to be isolated as the world was much larger than just the US and Europe.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the West was engaged in “economic banditry” against Russia and that Moscow would respond. He did not specify what response there would be but said it would be in line with Russian interests.

“As you understand, there must be a corresponding response to economic banditry.”

“This does not mean Russia is isolated,” Peskov told reporters. “The world is too big for Europe and America to isolate a country, and even more so a country as big as Russia. There are many more countries in the world.”

Ukrainian forces holding key cities: Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces were holding key cities in the central and southeastern part of the country on Saturday, while the Russians were trying to block and keep encircled Kharkiv, Nikolaev, Chernihiv and Sumy.

“We’re inflicting losses on the occupants they could not see in their worst nightmare,” Zelensky said.

Russian strikes lessen over past 24 hours: UK

The rate of Russian air and artillery strikes in Ukraine over the past 24 hours has been lower than in previous days but Russian forces were believed to be advancing in the south of the country, Britain said in an intelligence update.

“Ukraine continues to hold the key cities of Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Mariupol,” the British defence ministry said on Twitter early on Saturday.

The ministry said Russian forces were probably advancing on the southern port city of Mykolaiv and there was a realistic possibility that some forces would attempt to circumvent the city to prioritise their advance towards Odessa.

Foreign flights on halt from March 8: Aeroflot

Russia’s flagship airline Aeroflot said on Saturday that it was suspending all its international flights beginning March 8.

The budget airline Pobeda - a subsidiary of Aeroflot - also said it will be halting international flights from March 8.

Italy seizes $156 million in oligarch wealth

The Italian government has seized $156 million in luxury yachts and villas in some of its most picturesque destinations, including Sardinia, the Ligurian coast and Lake Como.

“We must be able to stop Putin’s attack, bringing him to the table, and he won’t go with niceties,” Italian foreign minister Luigi Di Maio told Italian state TV on Friday, announcing Italy’s plans to begin the seizures of property belonging to oligarchs close to Putin.