MOSCOW. Feb 21 (Interfax) - Russia cannot be defeated on the battlefield, and it will properly respond to plans to turn the local conflict in Ukraine into global confrontation, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"Western elites aren't hiding their goal to deliver Russia a strategic defeat, as they say - that's a direct quote. What does it mean? What is it for us? This means putting an end to us once and for all, that is, they intend to turn the local conflict into a phase of global confrontation. This is exactly how we understand that, and we'll respond to that accordingly," Putin said in his address to the Russian Federal Assembly on Tuesday.
"In this case, we're talking about our country's very existence," he said.
"But they also can't fail to realize that Russia can't be defeated on the battlefield," Putin said.