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Moscow claims that the British ship entered Russian territorial waters, although the international community does not recognize the annexation of Crimea and continues to consider the peninsula to be Ukrainian territory. Furthermore, Britain denied reports that a shooting had occurred on its ship and stated that during the alleged incident, Russian forces were simply conducting a shooting exercise in the vicinity.
“It just came to our attention then. This is obviously a provocation. What did these provocateurs want to show and what goals were they trying to achieve? [provokacija] It was complex and was organized not only by the British, but also by the Americans, “said the Kremlin leader during the annual” Hotline “program, during which Putin directly answers questions from the Russian population.
Speaking about the incident in the Black Sea, Putin said that a US intelligence plane had been dispatched from a NATO airport earlier that day, allegedly to monitor the reaction of Russian forces to the British ship’s maneuvers.
“We saw it well, we looked at it. It was clear that a squad of minesweepers had entered [į ginčijamus vandenis] primarily for military purposes, in an attempt to help reconnaissance of the aircraft discover how our armed forces are stopping such provocations. He looked at who and where joins us, how it works, where it is. We saw and knew this, so we provided the information we thought we needed. Maybe I said too much, the military will forgive me, “Putin said.
He added that the incident also has a political dimension, especially since it took place a few days after the first direct meeting between Putin and US President Joe Biden in Switzerland.
“I met in Geneva a few days earlier. The question is: who needed to carry out such a provocation? Why is all this being done? Is it intended to emphasize that these people do not respect the adherence of the Crimean people to the Federation They say they don’t recognize something, well, don’t admit it, but why prepare such provocations? ”Putin continued.
The Russian leader said he believed the incident off the Crimean coast did not pose a serious escalation risk.
“It just came to our attention then. The world is on the brink of World War III. Well, of course not; Even if we had sunk that ship, it would still be hard to imagine the world being on the brink of World War III. Therefore, those who do so know that they will not be the winners of this war, “Putin said.
According to him, Russia would hardly be happy with such a course of events.
“It’s true, at least we know why we are fighting, we are fighting for ourselves in our territory, for our future, because we got to them … that’s where they found themselves on our shores,” Putin said.
According to the Russian president, he is not concerned about the considerations of the new war, nor the fact that “someone does not respect the choice of the Crimean people”, because this precedent has more serious consequences.
“Look, it made a lot of noise because we were conducting training in our territory on the border with Ukraine. I ordered the Ministry of Defense to finish [mokymus] and bring the soldiers out of the wall. But instead of reacting positively, <...> What did they do instead? They appeared on our borders! ”, He added.
According to Putin, he is concerned about the “fundamental”: “the beginning of the military seizure of the territory of Ukraine.”
“It is the military seizure of the territory that is directly adjacent to us that poses serious security challenges for us. This is really related to the fundamental interests of the Russian Federation and the people of Russia,” Putin said.
At the time, the UK embassy in Moscow after the Black Sea incident said that the British warship was sailing peacefully through the territorial waters of Ukraine in accordance with international law.
“No shots were fired at the Defender squad. The Royal Navy made peaceful voyages through the territorial waters of Ukraine in accordance with international law. The account of these events provided by the Russian side is inaccurate,” says the report of the embassy published through the social network Telegram.
The strategically important Crimean peninsula, which belongs to Ukraine, was occupied by Russia after Maidan’s pro-Western revolution in Kiev in 2014 and annexed in March of that year. The international community does not recognize this movement.
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