Russian dictator Vladimir Putin fantasized that Russian troops are advancing along the entire front line in Ukraine and questioned NATO's combat readiness. This is reported by UNN with reference to Putin's statement at the international session of the Valdai Club.
Putin stated that Russian troops are allegedly "advancing along the entire front line in Ukraine to create a 'security zone' there." According to him, they have already "entered Kostiantynivka, Siversk, and Chervonoarmiisk, and Kupyansk is two-thirds captured."
"If we are advancing so confidently, it means we are a paper tiger. What then is NATO itself? What does it represent then?" Putin said.
Earlier, UNN wrote that Vladimir Putin complained that Moscow had twice offered to join NATO - in 1954 and 2000, but was rejected. According to him, then-US President Bill Clinton initially allowed such a possibility, but later changed his mind.