’We’ll knock out their teeth,’ Putin Warns those who seek to ’bite a chink of Russia’

President Vladimir Putin sent out a stark reminder of the challenges facing Russia, and the role of the military, during a ministerial meeting online. ’Everyone is trying to bite us or bite something off of us – but they should know that we will knock out everyone’s teeth so that they can’t bite, and the key to this is the development of the armed forces,’ Putin said. However, Putin noted that he doesn’t intend to ‘militarize the state budget,’ as Russia is set to spend an equivalent of just $42 billion on defense, compared to the Pentagon’s budget-topping $700 billion.