Putin says the idea he would attack NATO ‘is boll**ks’ and denies having ‘imperial ambitions’, telling Western journalists: ‘Have you lost your mind? It’s nonsense’

Vladimir Putin has dismissed the idea that Russia plans to attack NATO as ‘boll**cks’ – while at the same time threatening to load Western countries’ enemies with missiles to attack them in revenge for their support of Ukraine.

During a rare press conference with Western news media yesterday, the dictator denied having “imperial ambitions” and told journalists “that they have come up with the idea that Russia wants to attack NATO.”

‘Are you crazy? Are you as thick as two short planks? Who made this up? It’s nonsense,” the 71-year-old Kremlin chief ranted.

But at the same meeting, the dictator threatened to supply his advanced weapons to enemies of Britain and other Western countries that supply long-range weapons to Kiev. These Russian weapons could then be used to harm NATO countries.

While many NATO members have supplied weapons to Kiev to support the fight against Russian invaders, military alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg stressed today that the country has no plans to send troops to Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin has dismissed the idea that Russia is planning to attack NATO as ‘boll**cks’

Vladimir Putin has threatened to supply Britain’s enemies with missiles so they can attack Britain in revenge for supplying long-range missiles to Ukraine.

The Russian president made the chilling comments during a speech to the media at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum

Kremlin dictator threatened for the first time to supply his advanced weapons to enemies of Britain and other Western countries that supply long-range weapons to Kiev

Putin made it clear that he was also prepared to supply weapons in the same way that NATO countries had done, but in his case to enemies of Britain and other Western countries.

Russians investigate a downed British Storm Shadow missile (photo)

Putin made his latest comments yesterday at a wide-ranging press conference with foreign journalists in St. Petersburg – a rare event and the first time he has answered questions from Western reporters since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

As several countries, including the US, have allowed Ukraine to use their weapons to attack inside Russia, Putin warned that such actions could lead to “very serious problems.”

“If anyone thinks that it is possible to supply such weapons to a war zone to attack our territory and create problems for us, why don’t we have the right to supply weapons of the same class to regions of the world where strikes will take place? on sensitive facilities of those countries?’ he said.

‘That is, the response can be asymmetrical. We’ll think about it.’

In further belligerent comments, the Russian president also accused Britain of direct involvement in the war in Ukraine, claiming that British Armed Forces personnel are targeting missiles hitting Russian targets.

Putin threatened to use nuclear weapons again if Russia’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity” are threatened, warning: “This should not be taken lightly and superficially.”

He accused Britain, the US and France of using their armed forces to attack Russian positions linked to the war in Ukraine.

“As for long-range precision weapons… like the British Storm Shadow or the American ATACMS or French missiles,” he said in an interview with journalists at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

“How is it used?” Putin asked. “Ukrainian soldiers cannot do everything alone and strike with this missile.

“They are simply not technologically capable of doing that,” he continued.

“To do this you need satellite reconnaissance, and based on this satellite reconnaissance… form a flight task, and then feed it into the missile system.

‘The soldier standing next to it just does it automatically, he presses buttons.

“Maybe he doesn’t even know what will happen next.”

Putin made it clear that he sees this as direct Western involvement in the war.

“I repeat: the task of flight is formed and…entered only by those who supply these weapons,” he said.

“If it’s ATACMS then the Pentagon is doing it, if it’s Storm Shadow that means the British are doing it.

“And in the case of Storm Shadow, it’s even simpler.

‘The simplicity lies in the fact that the flying task is entered automatically, without the intervention of soldiers on the ground.

“The British do it, so that’s it…”

Russia claimed last year to have seized an intact British-supplied Storm Shadow missile as a ‘war trophy’

The missile was seen in images with minor damage after it was downed in a cornfield near Berdiansk before being bundled into a Russian vehicle

The moment of a Storm Shadow missile attack on Chongar Bridge in June last year. Ukraine used the British-supplied missile to destroy the main bridge between Crimea and Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine’s Kherson region

Putin said there could be an “asymmetric response” if Western long-range missiles are deployed by Ukraine to hit Russian territory.

So far, these weapons have only been used to attack areas of Ukraine invaded by Russia, but Kiev is now authorized to carry out attacks within Putin’s borders.

Putin made it clear that he was also prepared to supply weapons in the same way that NATO countries had done, but in his case to enemies of Britain and other Western countries.

He asked, ‘What should we do in response?

‘First we will of course improve our air defense systems. We will destroy them.

“Secondly, we think: if someone considers it possible to supply such weapons to a war zone to attack our territory and create problems for us, why don’t we have the right to supply our weapons of the same class to those regions ? of the world where they will attack sensitive facilities of the countries that do this to Russia?

‘So the reaction could be asymmetrical. We will think about this.’

Putin has not indicated exactly to whom he wants to supply weapons.

“If we see these countries becoming involved in a war against the Russian Federation, we reserve the right to act in the same way.

“Overall, this leads to very serious problems,” he said.

On nuclear war, he warned the West not to turn a blind eye to the risk.

Russian nuclear doctrine allowed for the use of tactical – or battlefield – nuclear weapons, he said.

“For some reason the West believes that Russia will never use it,” the dictator said.

‘We have a nuclear doctrine, look what it says.

“If someone’s actions threaten our sovereignty and territorial integrity, we consider it possible that we will use all available resources.

“This should not be taken lightly and superficially.”

The 2020 doctrine states that Russia could press the button in response to an attack with nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction, or to the use of conventional weapons against Russia “when the very existence of the state is threatened.”

It comes after Russia last year claimed to have seized an intact British-supplied Storm Shadow missile as a “war trophy”.

The missile was seen in images with minor damage after it was downed in a cornfield near Berdiansk before being bundled into a Russian vehicle.

‘The enemy tried to prevent us from capturing such a trophy and delivering it safely [Russia] by sending his group of fighters to intercept,” said former head of Russia’s space agency Dmitry Rogizin.

“The missile has just been transferred to one of our defense companies, whose specialists will decipher the algorithms of the control system of this dangerous missile weapon and share them with air defense experts,” he added.

A month earlier, in June 2023, Ukraine used a British-supplied Storm Shadow missile to hit a key bridge between Crimea and Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine’s Kherson region, pro-Moscow sources claimed at the time .

Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-appointed governor of Kherson, said Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles were likely used in the attack, which damaged the road on the Chongar Bridge.