Putin warns the West: 'It's best not to mess with us'

Putin warns the West: 'It's best not to mess with us'
(Image credit: Peter Muhly - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Just hours after asking pro-Russian separatists to "open a humanitarian corridor for Ukrainian troops," Russian President Vladimir Putin took a slightly different tone while visiting a summer camp north of Moscow.

"Thank God, I think no one is thinking of unleashing a large-scale conflict with Russia," Putin said in a state-run broadcast from the camp. "I want to remind you that Russia is one of the leading nuclear powers…Russia's partners…should understand it's best not to mess with us."

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Sarah Eberspacher

Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.