Russia’s Putin defiant in face of US sanctions over Ukraine war

Russian person says sanctions are ‘serious for us’ but insisted helium would not crook to US unit implicit warfare connected Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed not to crook to unit from the West aft the United States deed Russia’s 2 biggest lipid companies with sanctions.

US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions connected Russia’s apical lipid firms, Rosneft and Lukoil, connected Wednesday successful an effort to unit Putin to scope a ceasefire successful his country’s penetration of Ukraine. Trump’s sanctions carried the menace of risks to overseas fiscal institutions that bash concern with these firms — a informing that could marque it harder for countries similar India to proceed to bargain lipid from Moscow.

The European Union adopted a caller circular of sweeping sanctions against Russian vigor exports connected Thursday, arsenic well, banning liquefied earthy state imports.

While Putin called the US sanctions an “unfriendly act” connected Thursday, the Russian president downplayed their effects.

“They are superior for us, of course, that is clear. And they volition person definite consequences, but they volition not importantly interaction our economical wellbeing,” Putin said. “This is, of course, an effort to enactment unit connected Russia. But nary self-respecting state and nary self-respecting radical ever decides thing nether pressure.”

The sanctions announced by Trump are the latest twist successful his shifting policy connected the warfare connected Ukraine. Trump has repeatedly switched positions connected the war: swinging from admonishing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for not appreciating US enactment to criticising Putin for not being unfastened to ceasefire negotiations.

Putin has called for the implicit disarmament of Ukraine and for Russia to support immoderate territory it has seized during the war. That presumption seems to beryllium non-negotiable for Ukraine, and Trump has been incapable to marque immoderate headway betwixt the 2 positions.

Plans for an in-person meeting betwixt Trump and Putin fell apart this week aft Trump projected “freezing” the Russia-Ukraine warfare with a ceasefire on the existent beforehand lines.

While Trump said connected Wednesday that helium cancelled the gathering with the Russian president implicit Putin’s stance connected Ukraine, the White House has said a gathering betwixt the 2 presidents wasn’t wholly disconnected the table.

“I deliberation the president and the full medication hopes that 1 time that tin hap again, but we privation to marque definite that there’s a tangible affirmative result retired of that meeting,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said connected Thursday.

(Al Jazeera)

Trump has besides suggested helium could nonstop Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, allowing it to deed longer-range targets deeper wrong Russia. Zelenskyy had hoped to unafraid an statement connected the weapons successful a gathering astatine the White House past week, but near without a deal.

On Thursday, Putin called immoderate plans to proviso Ukraine with long-range missiles “an effort astatine escalation”.

“If specified weapons are utilized to onslaught Russian territory, the effect volition beryllium precise serious, if not overwhelming. Let them deliberation astir it,” helium said.