Putin ally: Russia is fighting NATO in Ukraine

Patrushev during one of the meetings with Putin.

(archive photo)

The Secretary-General of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, who is one of the closest allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said that Moscow is now fighting NATO in Ukraine, and that the West is trying to erase Russia from the political map of the world.

"The events in Ukraine are not a clash between Moscow and Kiev, this is a military confrontation between Russia and NATO, and mainly between Russia, the United States and Britain," Patrushev said in an interview with the newspaper "Argumenti e Facti" today, Tuesday.

He continued, "The plans of the Westerners are to continue tearing Russia apart and eventually erasing it from the political map of the world."

Putin views the war in Ukraine as an existential battle with the West and has previously said Russia will use all available means to protect itself and its people from any aggressor.

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