Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: Collected
Russian President Vladimir Putin has refused to sign any ceasefire with Ukraine to stop long-range attacks, while Moscow has stepped up airstrikes on the Ukrainian capital Kiev and other locations, Qatar-based media outlet Al Jazeera reported.
“We are being told, ‘If they stop attacking your oil refineries, you will stop attacking their ships.’ This is simply ridiculous,” Putin said at the political forum of the Russian think tank Voldai Club in Moscow on Thursday (October 1) local time.
Putin made the remarks after a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in New York on September 22. During the meeting, Zelensky said that Kiev was ready to stop attacking Russian oil refineries and other energy facilities if Russia stopped attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Putin said at the forum, organized by a Moscow-based think tank, that Ukraine had partially achieved some of its goals through these attacks. He said that Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil refineries had cost the country about 1 percent of its gross domestic product, or GDP. But Russia is now responding.
Russia has recently stepped up its long-range attacks on Ukraine, targeting Ukrainian steel plants and supply chains, particularly the railways. Ukraine says Moscow is deliberately targeting civilian targets and keeping Kiev on a near-constant alert. Ukraine is bracing for another harsh winter.
Meanwhile, a Russian drone hit a school in Kiev on Thursday, city officials said. At the time, a series of airstrikes were underway in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. However, no casualties were reported in the incident. Students and school staff were in a shelter when the drone hit the school.
Putin also said that Russia is more interested in ending the conflict in Ukraine through negotiations. Moscow wants to see Ukraine as a neutral country after the war ends.
Warning of the use of nuclear weapons
Putin has warned Western countries against escalating tensions over the ongoing standoff over Ukraine, warning that any threat to Russia’s Kaliningrad region could have dire consequences. Kaliningrad is an isolated Russian territory sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania. Putin said Russia would use nuclear weapons to defend the region if necessary.
“If a situation arises of a direct attack on the Russian Federation, here we are talking about Kaliningrad and perhaps some other territories, then the issue of using all types of weapons in Russia’s hands will definitely and immediately come up for discussion,” he said.
Putin’s comments came after Russia sent a diplomatic note to NATO, which NATO said this week it had received, warning Moscow that it would be ready to use nuclear weapons if NATO tried to isolate or blockade the isolated territory in Russia’s Baltic region.
Putin also warned that if tensions in international conflicts continue to rise, the situation could quickly escalate to a dangerous level. “We must understand that a moment can come very quickly and unexpectedly for everyone when nothing can be changed,” he said. “This logic of constantly escalating tensions and taking ever tougher countermeasures will eventually lead to a dangerous level from which there is no return.”
Return of assets to Western companies
But Putin said that if the situation develops “favorably,” Russia could return the assets and businesses of Western companies it has seized in the future. Last month, Putin ordered the seizure of the businesses and assets of Swiss food manufacturer Nestle, French retailer Auchan, former French DIY chain Leroy Merlin and German wholesaler and food retailer Metro.