Russian President Vladimir Putin, reacting to the possible shipment of F-16s by Western countries to Ukraine, said, “Leopard tanks (in Ukraine) are burning, F-16s will burn like Leopards, there is no doubt about it.” said.
Putin met with Algerian President Abdulmecid Tebboune in St. In the main session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, The National Interest magazine answered the questions of columnist Dmitriy Simes.
Stating that Ukraine lost 186 tanks after the counterattack, Putin said, “The Ukrainian army was able to reach the first line of our defense in some areas where they attacked, and in others they could not. The main issue here is that they are using their strategic reserves, but they could not reach their targets in any region.” he said.
Noting that Ukraine will not use its own military equipment soon, Putin said, “There will be no equipment left, and everything they use will come from abroad. You can’t fight like this for too long.” expressed his opinion.
Pointing to the increase in production in the Russian defense industry, Putin said, “We increased the production of military products by 2.7 times last year and it continues to increase. Some enterprises work day and night.” used the phrases.
“F-16’S WILL BURN LIKE LEOPARDS”
Expressing that NATO is getting more and more involved in the war in Ukraine with weapons shipments, Putin said, “NATO is of course involved in the war in Ukraine. Military equipment shipments are coming, now the option of air shipments is being considered. Leopard tanks are on fire (in Ukraine), F-16s will burn like Leopards, there’s no doubt about it.” shared his opinion.
Stating that they will respond to this if F-16s for Ukraine are deployed in other countries, Putin said, “If the (F-16) will be deployed at air bases outside Ukraine for Kiev and used in combat operations, we will see how and where we will hit them.” said.
Explaining that Russia has completed the first part of the work on tactical nuclear shipments to Belarus, Putin said, “Russia does not need to use nuclear weapons, but theoretically it is permissible when the territorial integrity and independence of the state are threatened.” made its assessment.
Noting that Russia has more nuclear weapons than NATO countries, Putin said, “They know this and they keep telling us to start negotiations to reduce weapons.” he said.
VIDEO RELATED TO THE JEWISH GENOCIDE WAS SCREENED IN THE SESSION
Moderator Simes said, “There are Nazis in Ukraine.” Asked how his rhetoric offends Western rulers and how he feels about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky being Jewish, Putin replied, “I have Jewish friends since childhood. They say that Zelensky is not Jewish. Zelensky is a disgrace to the Jews.” she replied.
At the session, Putin showed a video about the Holocaust in Babi Yar and Volinya in Ukraine.
Putin is optimistic about the Russian economy
Explaining that the indicators in the Russian economy are becoming more and more positive, Putin said:
“I agree with the experts who think that the economic growth will be around 1.5 percent or even slightly below 2 percent this year. Our country maintains its place among the leading economies of the world.”
Pointing out that Russia has also increased its non-oil and natural gas revenues, Putin said, “Our non-oil and natural gas revenues grew by 9.1 percent in the first 5 months of this year, well above the expected.” used the phrase.
Defending that the decision to cut oil production by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the OPEC+ group, which consists of some non-OPEC producing countries, is not political, Putin said, “All decisions to cut production within OPEC+ are apolitical. Neither with Russia’s special military operation nor with any other It is not linked to opportunistic thinking.” he said. (AA)