Putin warns of retaliation for crossing Russia’s red line

Bloomberg

President Vladimir Putin warned rival nations not to cross Russia’s “red line” in their actions or face a tough reaction.
“Russia’s response will be asymmetric, quick and harsh,” Putin said in his annual state-of-the-nation speech on Wednesday. “They will regret it more than ever before.”
Putin didn’t single out any rivals for criticism, saying Russia would decide where its red line lies on a case-by-case basis. Touting Russia’s new nuclear weapons, he renewed an offer for talks on increasing strategic stability.
The ruble gained against the dollar at the end of the speech, which some observers had feared might include major new confrontational foreign-policy moves. Putin devoted most of the address to domestic issues, promising expanded government benefits and more spending on infrastructure to boost flagging living standards.
He spoke as a crackdown took place on countrywide opposition protests demanding the release of jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny. His failing health has become the latest flashpoint in worsening tensions with the West amid a massive Russian troop buildup on Ukraine’s borders.

Ukraine’s leader invites Putin for talks
Bloomberg

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy offered to meet Vladimir Putin in the conflict zone near the two countries’ border as concern over Russia’s military buildup in the region remains elevated.
Zelenskiy made the proposal after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the presence of about 100,000 Russian troops around its neighbour’s border is creating an “extremely tense” situation. The US Pentagon said that the mobilisation exceeds the one that preceded Russia’s 2014 military intervention.
Tensions between Kyiv and Moscow have spiraled in recent weeks after Russia began military drills and cease-fire violations jumped in the conflict that began when Putin seized Crimea from Ukraine seven years ago. The discord has spread to the nearby Black Sea with Russia starting naval and airforce exercises there.
“Ukraine and Russia, despite their common past, look to the future differently,” Zelenskiy said in a video message on Facebook. “But this isn’t necessarily a problem — this is an opportunity. At the very least, an opportunity to stop the deadly mathematics of future military losses before it’s too late.”