Putin: Sanctions imposed on Russia represent declaration of war

SANAA, Mar. 05 (YPA) – President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, said on Saturday “the sanctions imposed on his country are like a declaration of war.”

During his visit to a pilot training center of Aeroflot in Russia, Putin affirmed that Russia’s launch of a special military operation in Ukraine was a “difficult decision.”

He explained that the authorities in Kyiv “continued to repudiate the agreements over the past years, and about 13,000 Russians were killed in Donbas,” stressing that “Ukraine should have a neutral situation to prevent it from joining NATO.”

Putin pointed out that “the imposition of a no-fly zone over Ukraine constituting participation in hostilities against Russia,” adding that Moscow “has put the nuclear deterrent forces on alert after London’s statements about the possibility of NATO intervention in Ukraine.”

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