"The genie is out of the bottle... Remember Yugoslavia"

"Western countries made decisions that were completely incompatible with the United Nations Charter. They simply let the genie out of the bottle. Remember the events in Yugoslavia. I will not make any assessments now, as it is a complex process, but I will mention the divisions among the Serbian people," Putin said today at a meeting with members of the Russian Navy, according to TASS.

He stated that years of what he described as aggressive Western actions against Russia had triggered the conflict in Ukraine and forced Moscow to launch what it calls a "special military operation."

"They carried out a coup in Ukraine, a bloody and unconstitutional one, but the entire West pretended that it was nothing serious, that it simply had to happen that way. It was precisely those actions that forced us to launch a special military operation, in an attempt to end the military actions that the West and the Kyiv regime had already begun in parts of what was then Ukraine," Putin said.

"We feel very calm and confident because international law is on our side. We have the ability to fully defend our interests. We will do everything to ensure that the enemy is defeated. Victory is ours," Putin said.

The Russian president said that only a small number of countries possess weapons such as Zircon missiles, adding that Russia is continuing to improve them.

"There are not many countries in the world that have such weapons. We not only possess them, but we are also upgrading them and will continue to do so," the Russian president said.