'Impossible to isolate Russia', Putin tells West

RUSSIA, UKRAINE: Underlining that it was “impossible to isolate” Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday warned the West, stressing that “those who try would primarily hurt themselves”. His remarks come as the Ukraine war grinds into the fourth month with global food and fuel supply hit badly. A relentless Putin, however, is showing no signs of budging. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky has accused the Kremlin of attempting a “genocide” in Donbas.

Putin was speaking via video to members of the Eurasian Economic Forum, which comprises several ex-Soviet nations, on Thursday when he said it was “impossible, utterly unrealistic in the modern world”. He also spoke of “inflation unseen in 40 years, growing unemployment, rupture of supply chains and the worsening of global crises in such sensitive spheres as food”, while elaborating on the challenges the West is facing.

“This is not a joke. This is a serious thing that will have an impact on the entire system of economic and political relations,” Putin was quoted as saying in reports as he also hit out at the nations for seizing Russian reserves with a warning – “The theft of others’ assets never brought any good.”

Meanwhile, With the war having entered the fourth month, Ukraine has exhibited Russian tanks and military equipment – burned and destroyed – amid the ongoing fighting between troops of both countries. The tanks are on the display in Mykhailivska Square in the capital city of Kyiv. The pictures of the wreckage were tweeted by the Ministry of foreign affairs, Ukraine on Thursday. “The exhibition, of burnt out #Russian tanks and other equipment found in #Kyiv region after the invaders left it, is now open on Mykhailivska Square,” the caption read.

– THE HINDUSTAN TIMES