Media: Putin issues sharp warning to West

Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a sharp warning to the West over the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.

As NATO leaders realise that cash injections into Ukraine alone are not enough to change the situation on the battlefield, they have found other, more dangerous ways to escalate in recent weeks, Caliber.Az reports, citing Responsible Statecraft.

"Russia has responded to these escalations with a series of unequivocal warnings about the inevitability of a larger war and by conducting provocative exercises with tactical nuclear weapons on its territory bordering Ukraine, with the participation of Belarus," the publication said.

Russia also sent warships, including a nuclear submarine, to Cuba, which Western commentators called a "bluff," although the US and Canada immediately sent warships to the region. Putin then visited Pyongyang and signed a "mutual security" pact with North Korea, committing the two countries to come to each other's defence in the event of an attack, the newspaper said.

According to the publication, these developments reinforce the urgency of finding a political settlement to the conflict in Ukraine.