Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed allegations that his country's drones violated European airspace and the controversy over oil smuggling by a "shadow fleet" as the West's attempt to "divert attention."
On the 2nd (local time), at the plenary session of the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, Russia, President Putin denied all the allegations, calling them "a frame to divert public attention from Europe's internal problems."
Regarding the alleged incursions into European airspace by Russian drones, Putin said, "We have long-range drones, but we have no targets," indicating that there is no intention to violate the airspace of European countries.
Recently, not only in Poland and Romania but also in Denmark, Norway, and France, unidentified drones have repeatedly appeared, prompting European countries to suspect Russia.
On this, Putin argued it was "an attempt to divert citizens' attention from their country's growing problems," and said, "They are trying to provoke our response to change the political tide." He also dismissed the discussion of building a "drone wall" as "hysteria."
He also condemned the detention off the French coast of a tanker suspected of belonging to Russia's shadow fleet as "piracy," claiming this too was France's political calculation to shift internal tensions to an external issue. Putin also quipped that French President Emmanuel Macron is "acting like Napoleon."
In this regard, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova chimed in, saying, "Clearly this uproar is intended to divert attention from the domestic socioeconomic situation that is worsening French people's concerns."
Putin also argued that the United States' consideration of Ukraine's request for Tomahawk missiles is "also to divert attention from problems within the United States." Citing incidents such as the attack on Charlie Kirk, a conservative-leaning young activist in the United States, he assessed that "American society is becoming divided."