Putin dismisses threat of sanctions
MOSCOW – A defiant President Vladimir Putin on Monday called the Ukrainian army a “NATO foreign legion,” reflecting his readiness to stand up to the West regardless of rising economic costs, as Standard & Poor’s rating agency downgraded Russia’s credit rating to junk.
Putin’s spokesman shrugged off the Western threat of more sanctions as “short-sighted.”
The Kremlin’s uncompromising stance is rooted in its desire to prevent Ukraine from ever joining NATO by securing a broad autonomy for the rebellious provinces in the east.
“(Ukraine’s army) is not even an army, it’s a foreign legion, in this case a NATO foreign legion,” Putin said.
Associated Press
