By Ceyhun Alizade
ANKARA (AA) - Russia is responding with restraint to Ukrainian "terrorist attacks" and strikes on infrastructure, President Vladimir Putin said Friday.
Addressing a news conference following the sideline meetings of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, he said the main goal of Russia's "special operation" is the liberation of Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.
Russia is in no hurry and its operation will not stop, despite Ukrainian attempts to launch a counteroffensive, he said.
"Quite recently, the Russian Armed Forces launched a couple of sensitive strikes (in Ukraine). Let's assume this was just a warning. If the situation prevails, the response could be more serious," he added.
"We are not fighting with a full army. We fight only with a part of the Russian army, a contract-based part (only)," he said.
He underlined that Russia launched the war in Ukraine to prevent the creation of an "anti-Russian enclave" in Ukraine.
Putin also confirmed that Russia will take part in the G20 summit.
Russia's war on Ukraine on Feb. 24 has resulted in sanctions on Moscow from the EU, the UK and the US among other Western nations.