Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a threatening speech about the West to Russian MPs as the war rages on.
The leader also said that Moscow had barely started its campaign against Ukraine.
Putin has dared Western countries, including Ireland, to try and defeat his nation on the battlefield.
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He offered a sly jibe about the West in an address to the leaders of Russia’s State Duma about tacking his troops on.
“What can you say, let them try,” he said.
The president may have hinted at the nation’s wider strategy in relation to the war on Ukraine. He claimed that the longer the conflict continues, the harder it will be for the other side to negotiate.
It comes as Russian forces have been slowly pushing into the eastern Donetsk region after nearby Luhansk had been captured.
BBC reports that the Ukrainian flag has been raised on Snake Island, which had been taken by Russia at the start of the war, offering some hope of progress for the country.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin visited Kyiv earlier this week to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, just two weeks after his invitation. The trip was used to reiterate Irish solidarity with the war-torn country and their authorities.
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