Russia’s newest arms are clearly better compared to the ones of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.
"Of course, if we compare NATO’s modern arms to the arms of the latest Soviet period, they [Soviet ones] rank below in some qualities, by the way, not always. But if we are talking about our new arms, they are clearly better. It is an obvious fact," Putin said at the Everything for the Victory forum in the Russian city of Tula.
Russia’s defense industry has been showing good pace and quality, the president added. He also noted that the country has exported military equipment worth billions of dollars last year.
"Last year, we supplied a decent amount of our military equipment to world markets — worth billions of dollars," Putin said.
The leader highlighted that the Russian Pantsir missile systems are especially popular among foreign buyers.
Russian defense industry enterprises now are "swamped" with orders, the Russian president added.
"As for defense enterprises in general and Tula enterprises in particular ... we have orders to fill," the head of state said.
Putin said that the masters of the neo-Nazis, who seized power in Ukraine in a coup, are now pressuring them to continue the conflict with Russia.
"Everyone is here, everyone is working for the guys who are on the front lines fighting against today's neo-Nazis who seized power in Ukraine several years ago as a result of the coup, and their masters are directing them against Russia, using them as a tool in the fight against Russia," Putin stated.
Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24. Russian President Vladimir Putin described its purpose as "to protect people who have been subjected to eight years of abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime". He noted that the special operation was a coercive measure, that Russia "had no choice, the security risks created were such that it was impossible to respond by other means".
According to Putin, Russia has been trying for 30 years to agree with NATO on the principles of security in Europe, but has been met with either cynical deception and lies or attempts at pressure and blackmail, while the Alliance has steadily expanded and moved closer to Russia's borders, despite Moscow's protests.