Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, against the backdrop of Ukraine’s successful attacks on Russia’s oil infrastructure, urged European countries to block fuel and electricity supplies to Ukraine. During a meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in China, Putin expressed the opinion that Russia allegedly had not targeted Ukraine’s energy sector, especially during the winter period. He also claimed that Russia had “endured” strikes from the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Russian energy facilities and later began to respond to them.
This is reported by Finway
Threats to Cut Energy Supplies to Ukraine
Putin emphasized that Ukraine receives a significant portion of its energy resources through neighboring Eastern European countries. In his conversation with Robert Fico, he directly called for cutting energy supplies to Ukraine:
“Shut off their gas supplies, shut off their electricity supplies. And they will immediately understand that there are some limits to violating others’ interests,” Putin said in his conversation with Robert Fico.
The dictator also mentioned strikes on the Druzhba pipeline, which is used for transporting oil by the governments of Hungary and Slovakia, and stated that Ukrainian attacks harm not only Russia but also its partners in Europe.
Statements on International Policy
Despite the ongoing aggression against Ukraine, Putin once again claimed that Russia has no intention of attacking other countries. He described discussions about the threat from Russia in the European Union as “hysteria” and “provocation or complete incompetence.”
Additionally, Putin positively assessed the policy of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, which rejected free aid to Ukraine and did not impose new sanctions against the Russian Federation. According to him, it was during Trump’s presidency that America seemingly began to heed Moscow’s position, which was allegedly confirmed at the summit in Alaska.
Putin added that during negotiations with Trump in Alaska, the search for security guarantees for Ukraine after the war was discussed. In his view, it is possible to reach a consensus on this issue.
Separately, the Russian leader expressed readiness to cooperate with the U.S. regarding operations at the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, noting that this issue has already been partially discussed between the parties.