INTERNATIONAL: Russian President Vladimir Putin has said on Saturday ,March 5, that Western sanctions on Russia were akin to a declaration of war and he has warned that any attempt to impose a no-fly zone in Ukraine would lead to catastrophic consequences for the world.

Putin has reiterated that his aims were to defend Russian-speaking communities through the "demilitarisation and de-Nazification" of Ukraine so that Russia's former Soviet neighbour becomes neutral and no longer threatens Russia.

Ukraine and Western countries have dismissed this as a baseless pretext for the invasion he has launched on February 24 and have imposed a sweeping range of sanctions aimed at isolating Moscow.

Putin has said any attempt by another power to impose a no-fly zone in Ukraine would be considered by Russia to be a step into the military conflict. Such a step he said would have catastrophic consequences for Europe and the world.

The NATO military alliance has rejected Kyiv's request for a no-fly zone, on the grounds it would escalate the war beyond Ukraine into a far wider conflict, potentially pitting the United States against Russia.

Asked about reports that Russian conscripts had been used in Ukraine, Putin has said none had been involved and said the military operation was going to plan.

"These sanctions that are being imposed are akin to a declaration of war but thank God it has not come to that," Putin has said, speaking to a group of flight attendants at an Aeroflot training centre near Moscow.