VLADIMIR PUTIN warned the UK that Russia could sink its ships without sparking a global conflict in a furious rant last year.
Concerns over the situation in Ukraine are growing as US intelligence claims Russia has asked China for military assistance. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that Washington was watching closely to see to what extent Beijing provided economic or material support to Russia, and would impose consequences if that occurred. He told CNN: “We are communicating directly, privately to Beijing, that there will absolutely be consequences for large-scale sanctions evasion efforts or support to Russia to back-fill them. “We will not allow that to go forward and allow there to be a lifeline to Russia from these economic sanctions from any country, anywhere in the world.”
Putin’s forces continue to bombard major cities in Ukraine as the invasion nears three weeks.
The war has heightened tensions between Russia and the UK, but Moscow and London have been at loggerheads for years.
This was seen in June 2021 when Putin warned the UK that his forces could sink British ships.
Putin said Russia could have sunk a British warship that it accused of illegally entering its territorial waters without starting World War 3 and accused Washington of a role in the “provocation”.
At the time, Moscow had already expressed anger in the direction of the UK after British ships operated near Crimea.
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, but Britain and most of the world still recognise the Black Sea peninsula as part of Ukraine, not Russia.
Putin, speaking during his annual question and answer session with voters, signalled his anger over the operations.
When asked if the world had stood on the precipice of World War 3 during the standoff, Putin said: “Of course not.
“Even if we had sunk the ship, it is hard to imagine that the world would have been on the verge of World War 3 because those doing it know that they could not emerge as victors from such a war.”
Putin accused the US and UK of planning the episode together, saying a US spy plane had taken off from Greece earlier on the same day to watch how Russia would respond to the British warship.
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