Putin to NATO: We Won't Attack

Russian President Vladimir Putin has again denied any intention to invade other countries in Eastern Europe, which might not provide much comfort. As Politico notes, Russian officials also denied Moscow had plans to attack Ukraine in the months before Russia's invasion of the country two years ago. Putin made the comment Wednesday during a meeting of military pilots in Tver Oblast. "The possibility of an attack on some other countries, on Poland, the Baltic states, the Czechs are scared. It's just nonsense," Putin said. Russia has "no aggressive intentions toward these states."

In recent weeks, some military officials in Europe warned Russia could be planning to attack a NATO country. Russian officials have repeatedly painted the expansion of NATO as a threat. While Putin said the idea of a Russian attack on a NATO country was "complete nonsense," he didn't rule out attacks on countries holding enemy weaponry, per Reuters. Asked about the supply of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, Putin noted such aircraft could carry nuclear weapons and added, "If they will be used from airfields in third countries, they become for us legitimate targets, wherever they might be located." (More NATO stories.)