Russia's President Vladimir Putin has accused Nato of harbouring "imperial ambitions" after the western military alliance moved to admit Finland and Sweden as members.
Nato on Wednesday issued a formal membership invitation to the two Scandinavian countries during its summit in Madrid, where efforts to help Ukraine counter a Russian invasion dominated the agenda.
Nato leaders have channelled billions of dollars in military support to Kyiv since Mr Putin sent Russian troops into Ukraine in late February.
-
Ukrainian servicemen in a shelter at the frontline near Kharkiv. AP -
A Ukrainian and his puppy in the Donetsk region. AP -
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, third left, is shown apartment buildings damaged by Russian shelling during his visit to Irpin on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP -
Rescue specialists work at the site of a destroyed residential building after blasts in Belgorod, Russia. Reuters -
A woman lays flowers during a demonstration against the invasion of Ukraine in front of the Palais des Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland. EPA -
A woman injured when her house was damaged by the Russian shelling sits in the yard of her house, in Bakhmut, Ukraine. AP -
Local residents stand next to a damaged residential building in the town of Serhiivka, about 50 kilometres south-west of Odesa, Ukraine. AP -
Viktor Shevchenko stands in a crater to show its depth after a Russian shelling in the Saltivka district in Kharkiv. AP -
An image taken from a video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office purports to show the moment a missile struck the shopping mall in Kremenchuk. AP -
People watch as smoke rises after a Russian missile strike hit a crowded shopping mall, in Kremenchuk. AP -
Firefighters clean the rubble of the destroyed Amstor shopping mall in Kremenchuk. EPA -
A woman cries after the body of her husband, who was killed in the yard of an apartment building during shelling, was loaded into an ambulance in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP -
Firefighters and rescue workers at the destroyed Amstor shopping mall. EPA -
Rescuers work at the site of a shopping mall hit by a Russian missile strike, in Kremenchuk. Reuters -
A couple wounded by a Russian missile strike hold hands in a hospital, in Kremenchuk. Reuters -
People wait to receive humanitarian aid in front of a residential building damaged during a Russian attack in Borodyanka, Ukraine. EPA -
Ukrainian servicemen take a bus to their positions near Severodonetsk, in Luhansk area. EPA -
A Ukrainian service member and a dog in the industrial area of the city of Severodonetsk. Reuters -
A couple sits in front of a residential building that was damaged during a Russian attack, in Borodyanka. EPA -
Local residents receive humanitarian aid in Borodyanka. EPA -
A Ukrainian armed forces tank in Severodonetsk. Reuters -
Ukrainian service members walk past a damaged car in Severodonetsk. Reuters -
A giant Ukrainian flag is held up during the benefit concert 'Embrace Ukraine' on the Museumplein in Amsterdam. The free event will raise money for victims of the war in Ukraine and the purchase of mobile X-ray equipment that the country needs. EPA -
A fire from a gas processing plant continues to burn behind a field of wheat after it was hit by shelling a few days earlier in Andriivka, in the Kharkiv region. Reuters -
An onlooker takes in the damage from overnight shelling on Kharkiv's Housing and Communal College. Reuters -
A destroyed tank in the village of Novoselivka, outside Chernigiv. AFP -
A man decorates a toy cabin for children made from used ammunition crates in the village of Novoselivka, outside Chernigiv. AFP -
An internal view of the Housing and Communal College building damaged by recent shelling in Kharkiv. EPA
In the Turkmenistan capital of Ashgabat on Wednesday, Mr Putin said Ukraine and its people were a means for Nato to "defend their own interests".
"The Nato countries' leaders wish to ... assert their supremacy, their imperial ambitions," the Russian president said.
However, he said Nato membership for Finland and Sweden was not a problem for Russia.
"We don't have problems with Sweden and Finland like we do with Ukraine. We don't have territorial differences," Mr Putin said.
"There is nothing that could bother us about Sweden and Finland joining Nato. If Finland and Sweden wish to, they can join. That's up to them. They can join whatever they want."
But "if military contingents and military infrastructure were deployed there, we would be obliged to respond symmetrically and raise the same threats for those territories where threats have arisen for us", Mr Putin said.
The two countries abandoned a decades-long policy of neutrality after the invasion of Ukraine, which came after moves by Kyiv to join Nato.
Russia had always said Finland and Sweden joining the alliance would be destabilising for international security.
Russia's attack triggered economic sanctions against Moscow and a wave of support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's government, including deliveries of advanced weapons.
"Ukraine can count on us for as long as it takes," Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said at the Madrid summit, which ends on Thursday.
The alliance announced a new strategic overview that focuses on the threat from Russia and says that Nato "cannot discount the possibility" of an attack on its members.
"Today in Madrid, Nato proved it can take difficult but essential decisions. We welcome a clear-eyed stance on Russia, as well as the accession for Finland and Sweden," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
Washington said it would shift the headquarters of its 5th Army Corps to Poland.
An army brigade will rotate in and out of Romania, two squadrons of F-35 fighters will be based in Britain, US air defence systems will be sent to Germany and Italy, and the fleet of US Navy destroyers in Spain will grow from four to six.
Britain also pledged another $1.2 billion in military aid for Ukraine on Wednesday, including air defence systems and drones.
Putin hits back at Johnson over 'toxic masculinity' comments
Mr Putin on Thursday rejected British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's claim that the Russian leader would not have invaded Ukraine if he were a woman. Mr Johnson called Mr Putin's war a "perfect example of toxic masculinity" and mocked his macho posturing.
At a news conference during a visit to Turkmenistan, Mr Putin pointed to former British leader Margaret Thatcher's decision to send troops into the Falklands as a rebuttal of Mr Johnson's theory.
"I just want to recall the events of recent history, when Margaret Thatcher decided to launch military operations against Argentina for the Falkland Islands," Mr Putin said.
"So, a woman took the decision to launch military action. Therefore it's not an entirely accurate reference from the British prime minister to what is happening today."
The Russian leader went on to criticise Britain's move, 40 years ago, to respond militarily to Argentina's attempt to seize the sparsely populated British-run islands in the South Atlantic.
"Where are the Falkland Islands and where is Britain?" Mr Putin said. "Thatcher's actions were dictated by nothing less than imperial ambitions and [a desire to] confirm their imperial status."
Moscow repeatedly rails against western military interventions in the likes of the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq as examples of western imperialism and hypocrisy.
