Moscow, April 28 (Agency) Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned of a “lightning fast” retaliation if the West interferes in Ukraine. Addressing lawmakers in St Petersburg on Wednesday, the President accused the West of “economically strangling” the country. He said, “If someone intends to intervene into the ongoing events (in Ukraine) from the outside and creates unacceptable strategic threats for us, then they should know that our response to those strikes will be swift, lightning fast.” Referring to the recent Russian tests of hypersonic and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), Putin said, “We have all the tools for this — ones that no one can brag about.
And we won’t brag. We will use them if needed. And I want everyone to know this. All the decisions have been made in this regard.” The Independent quoted him as claiming that western countries had pushed Ukraine into conflict with Russia and made claims that his troops in Ukraine had stopped “a real danger of… a major conflict that would have unfolded on our territory”. This came a week after Russia announced that it has carried out a successful test launch of RS-28SarmatICBM that is one of the most destructive missiles worldwide. On Tuesday, The Independent quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned the risk of nuclear war is now “considerable” as Western nations continue to supply Ukrainian forces with weapons.