Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting of heads of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states at a summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan September 16, 2022. Foreign Ministry of Uzbekistan/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
LONDON 鈥� Russian President Vladimir Putin鈥檚 speech on Wednesday was a worrying escalation and the threats he made must be taken seriously, British foreign office minister Gillian Keegan told Sky 黑料社.
Putin ordered Russia鈥檚 first military mobilization since World War Two, warning the West that if it continued what he called its 鈥渘uclear blackmail鈥� that Moscow would respond with the might of all its vast arsenal.
鈥淐learly it鈥檚 something that we should take very seriously because, you know, we鈥檙e not in control 鈥� I鈥檓 not sure he鈥檚 in control either, really. This is obviously an escalation,鈥� Keegan said.
鈥淚t is chilling 鈥� It鈥檚 a serious threat, but one that has been made before,鈥� she told the BBC in a separate interview.
Putin restated his objective was to 鈥渓iberate鈥� eastern Ukraine鈥檚 Donbas industrial heartland and that most people in the region did not want to return to what he called the 鈥測oke鈥� of Ukraine.
鈥淭he overall address clearly was more of Putin鈥檚 lies, it was a rewriting of history,鈥� Keegan said.
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