Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned the West against a military confrontation as his invasion of Ukraine continues, writes news agency MIA.

“Today we hear that they want to beat us on the battlefield. What can we say to that? Let them try,” he said. He added that everyone should know that Russia has not even really started in Ukraine yet. He also said Moscow was not rejecting peace negotiations.

“But those who refuse should know that the further they go, the more difficult it is for them to come to an agreement with us,” he told a meeting of the heads of the party factions of the State Duma, the Russian lower legislative house. Putin praised the politicians as “real statesmen and patriots” who had supported the “special military operation” in Ukraine from the beginning.

“There are many parties, but only one homeland,” he said. “There is nothing more important than the fate of the homeland.” Putin repeated his accusation that the West wants to fight “to the last Ukrainian,” a situation he claimed is “a tragedy for the Ukrainian people.” He also said the West was waging an “economic Blitzkrieg against Russia.”