Accusing the West of pushing Russia over its "red lines", Vladimir Putin launched his counterattack on the West on Monday, adding that Moscow is being forced to respond after it has reached "situations that we have made clear publicly that we do not we will tolerate them" .
"The tactic is very simple: they brought us to the red lines, beyond which we can no longer retreat, here we start to respond, and then they scare their population with the Russian threat, as they did in the past with the threat Soviet", said the head of the Kremlin.
The Russian president told a meeting of Defense Ministry officials that Russia is watching with concern the possible deployment of short- and medium-range missiles by the US in the Asia-Pacific region, noting that Moscow will respond "in a comprehensive".
He also said that Russia will lift all its voluntary restrictions on missile development if the US continues to develop such missiles, stressing that mass production of the new "Oreshnik" will begin in the near future.
"As you know, Russia's last powerful weapon has become the Oreshnik medium-range missile system. In November, in response to strikes on the territory of our country by Western weapons, a ballistic missile with a non-nuclear hypersonic warhead was successfully used," Putin recalled about the attack on Ukraine.
"In the near future, the mass production of such systems must be ensured to protect the security of Russia and our allies," he stressed.
Putin, who said Russian forces in Ukraine have taken control of 189 settlements so far this year, stressed that Russia's nuclear weapons are there to deter the West, adding that "the country will maintain its potential and balanced development." nuclear forces" .
Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, speaking after Putin, said Russia had captured 4,500 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory this year and was currently advancing at a rate of "30 square kilometers a day" .
He also said that the Russian army should prepare " for all possible developments of the situation, including the possibility of an armed conflict with NATO in Europe in the coming decades ".
Russia rejects the term invasion when it comes to its attack on Ukraine and sees it as aimed at thwarting NATO, which Kiev wants to join, and facing an existential threat. In this context, Vladimir Putin referred to the significant increase in arms production in the country and called for its continuation.
" All issues related to mass production and the development of national systems for conducting strikes, including ultrasonic systems, must be regulated ," he said.
The head of the Kremlin also said that Russian forces have started using automated systems, with the help of artificial intelligence. " Soldiers receive advanced automated systems, some of which use artificial intelligence technology ," he said. (A2 Televizion)
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