Russian President Vladimir Putin escalated his rhetoric on Saturday, describing the sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies against Russia for its invasion as "similar to a declaration of war" and warned that Ukraine may lose its statehood.
Putin renewed his threats at an event Saturday morning as a temporary ceasefire deal in two Ukrainian cities to build a humanitarian corridor and evacuate civilians fell apart.
"The current leadership must understand that if they continue to do what they are doing, they
risk the future of the Ukrainian state,"
he told a meeting in Moscow, in his first extensive comments since the beginning of the invasion.
“If that happens,” he said, “they are the ones to blame,” reported The New York Times.
The Russian president reiterated his argument for the invasion, that it is necessary to protect the Russian-speaking population in eastern Ukraine against nationalists and prevent Ukraine's accession to NATO.
Russian President Vladimir Putin sits in the cockpit of a plane simulator as he visits the Aeroflot Aviation School outside Moscow, Russia, Saturday, March 5, 2022.Mikhail Klimentyev/AP
He added that Russia was ready to withstand the sanctions imposed on his country since the Ukraine invasion began, calling such measures "akin to a declaration of war," and that Moscow's demands had been made clear to the Ukrainians.
"Our proposals are on the table with the group of negotiators in Kiev," he said.
"Hopefully, they will respond positively to that," she said.
A war on a larger scale
The Russian president further threatened that any no-fly zone, as Ukrainian officials have called for in recent days, would have devastating consequences.
“
The realization of this demand would bring catastrophic results not only for Europe, but for the whole world
”, he remarked.
In an emotional call early on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized NATO for rejecting a no-fly zone, arguing the decision gave Russia a "green light" to continue bombing Ukraine.
The president called on the military alliance of 30 countries, including the United States, to ban all unauthorized planes from flying over Ukraine.
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Zelenskyy also met virtually with more than 300 members of the US Congress
and called for them to ban the import of Russian oil and send more planes to his country, according to lawmakers on the call.
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But NATO leaders have resisted calls to establish a no-fly zone, concerned implementing it could lead to a larger-scale war.
“If a no-fly zone was declared, that means somebody would have to enforce it,” Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Saturday.
"That means
someone would have to go in and actively fight Russian forces
," he remarked.
Putin indicated that the measure would widen the conflict.
"We hear calls to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine," he said.
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“It is impossible to do it from Ukrainian territory, it can only be done from the territory of other states.
But any move in that direction will be seen by us as participation in an armed conflict by the country that will create threats to our military,” he explained.
The failure of the humanitarian corridor
Putin blamed Ukrainian forces for the abrupt end of the humanitarian corridor with a temporary ceasefire that had been agreed to evacuate civilians in the town of Mariupol and the town of Volnovakha.
The humanitarian corridor was supposed to start at 9:00 am local time, but was canceled by the Ukrainian authorities who accused Russia of continuing to bomb the area.
But Putin said Ukrainian forces sabotaged the evacuations.
“In Mariupol, for example, where it is happening now as we speak: they called from the Government, from Kiev, they spoke with our Army: make a corridor for citizens to leave the city.
Of course, they reacted immediately, they stopped all military activity, ”he assured.
“And they looked at what was happening: they didn't release anyone!
They used them as human shields,” he denounced.
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Civilians trying to leave a besieged city in southern Ukraine on Saturday
tied white flags, blankets and sheets to their vehicles to show they posed no threat
, but were forced to abandon their evacuation plan due to fighting outside the city.
city, according to local officials and witnesses.
At least 200 vehicles converged on a central location in the port city Mariupol around 11 a.m. local time, hoping to drive around 225 km (140 miles) northwest of the city of Zaporizhzhia, a freelance photographer said. Evgeniy Maloletka, in an interview.