The world is facing the “most dangerous decade” since World War II, Russian president Vladimir Putin said while accusing the West of playing a “dangerous and dirty game”.
“We are standing at a historical frontier: Ahead is probably the most dangerous, unpredictable and, at the same time, important decade since the end of World War II,” the president said in his speech to the Valdai Discussion Club, a Moscow-based thinktank.
He added that Russia does not consider itself an enemy of the West, as he railed against “arrogant” Western leaders who he said were set on imposing their values on the rest of the world.
He said Moscow has “one message” for the “leading countries of the West and Nato – let’s stop being enemies, let’s live together”.
Meanwhile, The UN nuclear chief Rafael Grossi said he is sending inspectors to two locations in Ukraine over Russia’s allegations of possible production of “dirty bombs”.
Mr Grossi said: “The purpose of this week’s safeguards visits is to detect any possible undeclared nuclear activities and materials related to the development of ‘dirty bombs’.”
Key Points
-
Putin says world facing ‘most dangerous and unpredictable time’
-
Zelensky says Russia has carried out nearly 4,500 missile strikes
-
UN to probe Russia’s ‘dirty bomb’ claim
-
South Korea denies sending lethal weapons to Ukraine
Putin hits out at Liz Truss over comments on nuclear weapons
06:29 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Vladimir Putin accused Liz Truss of being “a bit out of it” over comments she made about nuclear weapons.
The Russian president hit out at the former prime minister as he sought to defend his country from the criticism of Western leaders since the invasion of Ukraine.
It comes amid concerns that with Russia struggling to make ground in Ukraine, Mr Putin could turn to nuclear weapons.
“We’ve never said anything proactively about possible use of nuclear weapons by Russia. We have only hinted in response to those statements that the Western leaders have made,” he said, according to a live translation on Sky News.
Dominic McGrath has more.
Putin accuses Liz Truss of being ‘out of it’ over comments on nuclear weapons
South Korea denies sending lethal weapons to Ukraine
06:12 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol said that Seoul has not provided any lethal weapons to Ukraine, after Russian president Vladimir Putin said such a decision would destroy their bilateral relations.
“We have been in solidarity with the international community for peaceful, humanitarian aid to Ukraine and have not provided any lethal weapons, but that’s in any regard a matter of our sovereignty,” Mr Yoon told reporters.
The US ally has maintained that it would not provide Ukraine with lethal aid and has sought to avoid antagonizing Russia due to Moscow’s influence over North Korea.
“We are putting efforts to maintain peaceful, good relations with every country in the world, including Russia,” Mr Yoon added.
Russia deployed over 30 drones in two days, says Zelensky
06:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia has launched more than 30 drone attacks on the war-torn country in just two days.
Since February, Moscow has carried out nearly 4,500 missile strikes and over 8,000 air raids, the president said in his nighttime address.
Standing beside what appeared to be a downed Iranian Shahed drone, Mr Zelensky pledged to “clip the wings” of Moscow’s air power.
He said: “Enemy planes will fall. Enemy helicopters will fall. ‘Shaheds’ will fall.”
UN to probe Russia’s ‘dirty bomb’ claim
05:56 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
UN nuclear chief Rafael Grossi said he is sending inspectors to two locations in Ukraine where Russia alleged that activities related to the possible production of “dirty bombs” was taking place.
He said the inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency would be traveling this week to the two sites, following a written request from the Ukrainian government.
Russia’s UN ambassador alleged in a letter to Security Council members this week that Ukraine’s Institute for Nuclear Research of the National Academy of Sciences in Kyiv and Vostochniy Mining and Processing Plant “have received direct orders from (Volodymyr) Zelensky’s regime to develop such a dirty bomb.”
World faces ‘most dangerous and unpredictable time’, says Putin
05:55 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Russian president Vladimir Putin said the world is facing the most dangerous decade since World War II as Western powers power struggle to prevent their crumbling of global dominance.
“The historical period of the West’s undivided dominance over world affairs is coming to an end,” Mr Putin said at the Valdai Discussion Club, a conference of international policy experts.
“We are standing at a historical frontier – Ahead is probably the most dangerous, unpredictable and, at the same time, important decade since the end of World War II.”
He accused the West of playing a “dangerous and dirty game” and seeking to escalate the war in Ukraine.
05:17 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
