The russian dictator vladimir putin claims that the West is allegedly pushing moscow to a "red line", to which russia "cannot help but respond". He stated during a meeting of the russian Ministry of Defense that the kremlin is "not rattling nuclear weapons". This was reported by russian media on December 16.
"The United States continues to pump the Kyiv regime with weapons and money. The West is pushing Russia to the red line, and moscow cannot help but respond to this", - putin said.
The russian dictator also added that moscow is "not rattling nuclear weapons", while the West allegedly frightens people with "mythical claims" that russia is planning an attack.
According to putin, russia is "forced to take additional security measures", which it does "in a balanced manner".
"Russia will lift its voluntary restrictions on deploying intermediate- and short-range missiles if the United States begins deploying such systems", - putin noted.
Earlier, the russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, stated that russia would use any means necessary to avoid suffering a "strategic defeat" in Ukraine.