Putin warns West: Moscow has 'red line' about Ukraine, NATO

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday sternly warned NATO against deploying its troops and weapons to Ukraine, saying it represents a red line for Russia and would trigger a strong response.

Commenting on Western concerns about Russia’s alleged intention to invade Ukraine, he said that Moscow is equally worried about NATO drills near its borders.

Speaking to participants of an online investment forum. the Russian president said that NATO’s eastward expansion has threatened Moscow’s core security interests. He expressed concern that NATO could eventually use the Ukrainian territory to deploy missiles capable of reaching Russia’s command centers in just five minutes.

“The emergence of such threats represents a ‘red line’ for us,” Putin said. “I hope that common sense and responsibility for their own countries and the global community will eventually prevail.”



Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a video call of the VTB Capital "Russia Calling!" Investment Forum in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/europe-russia-ukraine-vladimir-putin-moscow-cd558699728e9ae935eaadf940efeb18

[Ray Bruns]

1. "I hope that common sense and responsibility for their own countries and the global community will

eventually prevail"

When has that ever happened?

[Escurumbele]

2. Where have I heard that "red line" thing before?

Oh yes, from trump and his company, and his taxes...If I were Putin I would be concerned, he is starting to talk like the buffoon.

[Baked Potato]

3. Easy, Putin moves his troops back home by Christmas and

all’s well. He represents a Hacker State only good for extortion. NATO doesn’t annex countries.

[Budi]

4. A walking talking hypocrite if their ever was one.

“The emergence of such threats represents a ‘red line’ for us,” Putin said. “I hope that common sense and responsibility for their own countries and the global community will eventually prevail.”

How bout get the fk out of our business.

[Mysterian]

5. I hope NATO tells tin pot rooty pooty to slag off

No more appeasement of maniac dictators!

[Traildogbob]

7. Fuck you Pootie Poo

We had a red line, fucking in our democracy and installing your puppet. He needs a good bitch slapping from the world. Sanction his ass into poverty. Media his ass inside Russia 🇷🇺 Into hell.

[lanlady]

14. oh man, I love the way you think Traildogbob

Putin is a scourge on the planet. Just as we're dealing with COVID, global warming, and a million other problems that require a coordinated global response, this little s.o.b. decides it's a fine time to launch a completely pointless war against Ukraine, a country that poses no threat to anyone.

Especially agree with your sentiment that he ought to be sanctioned into poverty. For starters, the US and EU ought to pounce on every frigging bank account and piece of property owned by Putin's associates and anyone known to be laundering money for Putin and his pals. Send them back whence they came - to polluted, filthy, rusting Soviet towns waiting in endless lines for a loaf of bread and a kilo of sugar.

[Traildogbob]

16. Great minds!

Love the idea of seizing laundered properties of him AND his goons…..some from our own government.
But he probably laughs at the US bitching about invading countries that pose no threat. Our footprints are world wide.

[Marcuse]

8. We won't if you don't.

[Bayard]

9. NATO

"could eventually use the Ukrainian territory to deploy missiles capable of reaching Russia’s command centers in just five minutes."

If you keep playing with fire, you're going to get burnt, Vlad. Stop it.

[amcgrath]

10. Ask Ukraine to join NATO

[mpcamb]

11. Hey! Short guy! You don't own it!

[FakeNoose]

12. He's really wishing his buddy Chump were still in the White House

[lanlady]

13. Oppo leader Aleksey Navalny put it best -

Putin is profoundly psychologically sick with the need to acquire, amass, amass, and acquire some more - real estate, yachts, estates, money, power. Where Trump is all about the Grift, Putin is all about the Grab.

But now, this little KGB thug is bored. And restless. His fingers itch, his beady eyes scrunch up. He's worth more than the rest of Russia and half of Asia combined; he and his cronies have stolen everything that could be stolen from the Baltic Sea to the Sea of Japan. Time to move on to the next smash-and-grab adventure: Ukraine! A huge territory in the heart of Europe. What a prize asset in his personal real estate portfolio. It will satisfy his need to acquire and to steal until the itch returns 2 or 3 years down the road and he decides to make a go for Belarus, Armenia, and the part of Georgia that slipped out of his grasp in 2008.

Putin in a nutshell. It's not about Russia's interests. It's all about his sick need to steal what doesn't belong to him.

[roamer65]

15. Ukraine isn't in NATO, so not much will be done if Putin invades.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are EU and NATO members. If Putin makes any moves on them, it will be WW3.

[TexasBushwhacker]

18. Ukraine is preparing to apply to the EU in 2024

And I would imagine they would become members of NATO as well. They have no interest in rejoining Russia in a Soviet style government.

[TexasBushwhacker]

17. Bring it mother fucker n/t