Putin warns Western sanctions on Russia and no-fly zone are akin to a declaration of war

05.03.2022 - 17:51 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that he considers Western sanctions to be akin to a declaration of war against Russia.

During a state television address, Mr Putin made wild claims against Western nations which have implemented economic sanctions.

The countries among those that have imposed sanctions include the UK, US and the European Union.

He also defended his invasion of Ukraine, stating that he want to "demilitarise" the country and argues that it should have a neutral status.

Mr Putin also repeated the line that he wants to "de-nazify" Ukraine - his opposition to a 'Nazi presence' in Ukraine has been at the forefront of his justifications to invade.

It comes shortly after he declared the job of destroying Ukraine's "military infrastructure is almost complete," although no clarification has been provided on what this means for the invasion.

Putin also said that Moscow would consider any third-party declaration of a no-fly zone over Ukraine as “participation in the armed conflict”.

Speaking at a meeting with female pilots on Saturday, Putin said Russia would view “any move in this direction” as an intervention that “will pose a threat to our service members”.

“That very second, we will view them as participants of the military conflict, and it would not matter what members they are,” he said.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has pushed Nato to impose a no-fly zone over his country, warning that “all the people who die from this day forward will also die because of you”, as Russian forces were battering strategic locations in Ukraine.

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Nato has said a no-fly zone, which would bar all unauthorised aircraft from flying over Ukraine, could