Putin warns the West: 'It's best not to mess with us'
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."
Putin continued to deny that any Russian troops or tanks have crossed the border, despite a NATO report released Thursday — which includes satellite images — estimating more than 1,000 Russian troops are now in Ukraine.
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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.