The offensive in northeastern Ukraine is in response to Ukrainian strikes on Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during on his visit to China, the world agencies reported. He assured that for now Moscow has no intention of taking over the large Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, BTA reported.
"I have stated publicly that if this continues, we will be forced to create security buffer zones, a sanitary zone. And that's what we're doing," the Russian president said during a press conference from Harbin in China.
He also called for strengthening the emerging multipolar world.
"Of course, it is necessary to strengthen the emerging multipolar world," Putin said in response to a question, adding that this order is now taking shape. "Everyone perfectly understands this, they are aware of it,", he emphasized in a conversation with the Russian journalists who accompanied him during the trip.
"It is important that those who try to maintain their monopoly on decision-making in the world in all matters, realizing this, do everything that depends on them in this case so that this process is natural, I repeat once again, peaceful, conflict-free," Putin added.
The Russian leader also called the US-imposed tariffs on Chinese electric cars very unfair competition, Reuters reported. He added that this was done because Chinese electric cars are better.
Washington this week increased tariffs on $18 billion worth of Chinese goods, including electric cars, batteries, semiconductors, steel, aluminum, critical materials, solar cells, medical products, electric cars and more. At the same time, the tariffs on more than 300 billion dollars, introduced during Trump's time, were also preserved.
Putin also said that Russian and Chinese satellite systems complement each other and can exchange information, which helps in transportation, reduces the cost of services and saves energy.