Putin warns against stepping in Ukraine war, responses to follow

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Russian President Vladimir Putin warned other countries against intervening in the war in Ukraine, stressing that Moscow would perceive such action as one that could pose a threat to Russia's strategic security and would warrant a "lightning-fast" response.

"What I would like to note and say now, [and] I already spoke about it at the very beginning of the special military operation: If anyone, I stress this again, anyone intends to intervene in the events from the outside and pose unacceptable strategic threats to Russia, they should know that our response to these strikes will be lightning-fast and swift," President Putin said at the meeting with members of the Council of Legislators.

Putin noted that Russia had the tools necessary to carry out such counter-strikes it was warning against, stressing that all the decisions have been made in this regard.

"We will not flaunt [these tools]. We will use them if we have to. And I want everyone to know about it," the president said in light of escalating tensions regarding the Ukraine crisis and as the West rallies against Moscow in a bid to undermine it.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the United States had already given Kiev some $1 billion in economic aid, in addition to an additional $500 million cleared last week, not to mention the military aid the United States gave to Kiev since Biden took office.

The latest military aid package, worth some $800 million, made for a total of $2.4 billion in military aid the past month alone, and a total of $3.2 billion since Biden took office, according to figures provided by the White House.

Since the start of the war, the United States has deployed more than 100,000 of its troops to NATO member states, and the European Union also chipped in, sending $500 million worth of arms and equipment to Kiev.

The US is still sending arms to Ukraine despite the Russian ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, warning that the influx of Western arms to the conflict zone in Ukraine was adding fuel to the fire.

Despite all the aid given to Kiev, several members of Congress and senior Ukrainian officials have repeatedly suggested giving Ukraine the frozen assets belonging to Russia's central bank.