MOSCOW (AP) \u2014 Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the United States that supplies of long-range missiles to Ukraine will seriously damage relations between Moscow and Washington but will not change the situation\u00a0on the battlefield, where the Russian army is making slow but steady advances.<\/p>\n
The potential supply of U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles to Kyiv will signal a \u201cqualitatively new stage of escalation, including in relations between Russia and the U.S.,” Putin said at a forum of international foreign policy experts in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi.<\/p>\n
The Russian leader noted that even though Tomahawk missiles will inflict damage on Russia if supplied to Ukraine, Russian air defenses will quickly adapt to the new threat. \u201cIt will certainly not change the balance of force on the battlefield,\u201d he added, emphasizing that the\u00a0Russian military is continuously making gains\u00a0against Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Asked about\u00a0Trump dismissing Russia as a \u201cpaper tiger\u201d because of its failure to defeat its smaller neighbor after more than 3 1\/2 years of fighting, Putin argued that Russia has faced all the NATO allies backing Kyiv.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are fighting against the entire bloc of NATO and we keep moving, keep advancing and feel confident and we are a paper tiger; what NATO itself is?\u201d he said. \u201cA paper tiger? Go and deal with this paper tiger then.\u201d<\/p>\n
A White House official who was not authorized to publicly discuss the issue and spoke on condition of anonymity said Russia\u2019s economy and reputation have taken a battering because of the war as Putin has repeatedly rejected proposals for a peace deal that would have benefited his country.<\/p>\n
Putin hails Alaska’s summit with Trump and reaffirms nuclear pact’s extension offer<\/p>\n
At the same time, Putin hailed U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s efforts to help negotiate peace in Ukraine and described their August summit in Alaska as productive.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was good that we made an attempt to search for and find possible ways to settle the Ukrainian crisis,\u201d he said, adding that he felt \u201ccomfortable\u201d talking to Trump.<\/p>\n
Putin also reaffirmed his offer to the U.S. to extend their last remaining nuclear arms control pact for one more year after it expires in February. The 2010\u00a0New START\u00a0treaty limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they don’t need it, we don’t need it either,” he said, adding that \u201cwe feel confident about our nuclear shield.”<\/p>\n
While praising Trump and trying to emphasize potential common interests, the Russian president sent a stern warning to Ukraine\u2019s Western allies against trying to seize ships that carry Russian oil to global markers. He argued that would amount to piracy and could trigger a forceful response while sharply destabilizing the global oil market.<\/p>\n
Threatening a forceful response to Western \u201cpiracy,\u201d mocking drone claims<\/p>\n
Asked about the detention of\u00a0an oil tanker\u00a0off France’s Atlantic coast, which President Emmanuel Macron linked to\u00a0Russia\u2019s so-called shadow fleet of aging tankers of uncertain ownership that are avoiding Western sanctions, Putin cast it as an attempt by Macron to distract public attention from his country’s own internal problems and mockingly likened the French leader to Napoleon.<\/p>\n
He strongly warned the West against such action, arguing that it defies international maritime law and risks triggering military confrontation. \u201cIt\u2019s piracy, and how do you deal with pirates? You destroy them,” he said.<\/p>\n
Putin also scoffed at Western claims of\u00a0possible Russian involvement in recent drone flights over Denmark, casting them as part of purported NATO efforts to \u201cinflame tensions to boost the defense spending.\u201d<\/p>\n
Intrusions into NATO\u2019s airspace\u00a0blamed on Russia reached an unprecedented scale last month. A swarm of Russian drones flew into Poland, Estonia complained about an intrusion by Russian fighter jets and numerous unidentified drones were sighted over Denmark, Germany and other countries in what some European officials described as Moscow testing NATO’s response.<\/p>\n
European defense ministers have agreed to develop a\u00a0\u201cdrone wall\u201d\u00a0along their borders to better detect, track and intercept drones violating Europe\u2019s airspace.<\/p>\n
Putin dismissed Western allegations of Russia\u2019s purported aggressive plans against NATO allies as \u201cnonsense\u201d aimed at distracting public attention from domestic problems.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are carefully watching the growing militarization of Europe,\u201d he said. \u201cIs all of this just words or is it time for us to take countermeasures? No one should have doubt that Russia\u2019s countermeasures will not take a long time to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
Putin’s reaction to Charlie Kirk’s assassination<\/p>\n
Asked about Charlie Kirk’s assassination, Putin called it a \u201cheinous crime\u201d that reflected a \u201cdeep split” in American society. He hailed Kirk as a hero killed for promoting the same conservative values that Russia shares.<\/p>\n
Putin also praised Michael Gloss, an American and the son of a deputy CIA chief, who joined the Russian military and was killed in action in Ukraine in 2024. He said he had awarded Gloss with a medal, which he handed to Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff during his visit to Moscow.<\/p>\n
The Russian leader likened Gloss to Kirk, saying they championed similar \u201ctraditional\u201d values. “He gave his life while defending those values as a Russian soldier, and Kirk gave his life while fighting for the same values in the United States,\u201d Putin said.<\/p>\n
In response to questions about Gloss, the CIA said in a statement that the agency \u201cconsiders Michael\u2019s passing to be a private family matter \u2014 and not a national security issue. The entire CIA family is heartbroken for their loss.”<\/p>\n
At one point during the four-hour event televised live, Putin, a former Soviet KGB officer and one-time head of Russia’s top domestic security agency, misspoke and referred to himself as \u201cthe CIA director\u201d while describing a meeting with President George W. Bush and his administration officials. \u201cThe future director,\u201d Putin quipped as the audience broke into laughter.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Associated Press writers David Klepper and Chris Megerian in Washington contributed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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